UNSUNG HEROES
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What did you think of your first opera? It was Madame Butterfly. I adored it, and it was what I had envisioned a great opera to be. One week later, I saw Peter Grimes and was completely blown away. That showed me what opera could do. I still have nightmares of the HGO Chorus coming after me with chairs and torches. FALL 201 7
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applied for a grant-writing job at HGO, being fully upfront with the fact that I had never seen an opera.
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Heeere's Kelly... 1. demonstrating an early interest in the saxophone; 2. during her (brief ) French horn era; 3. with her husband, Tyler Sooby, at the Chicago bus stop where they met as students; 4. with an "Oscar" her supportive mom gave her when she got a speaking part in a school musical; 5. at the Opening Night Dinner (2015) with Dr. Mauro Ferrari and his daughter; 6. after a performance with the Russian choir; 7. being congratulated by HGO's Patrick Summers and Perryn Leech on five years with HGO; 8. with the late Sandra Bernhard, "a genius" and the founding director of HGOco
It’s interesting that was the piece that unlocked opera for you. Has your taste stayed more towards the nonstandard repertoire? I guess so, as the next show that left me speechless was Cruzar la Cara de la Luna. I was on the job about a month when David Chambers, who was then the director of institutional giving, asked if I’d like to help with a few corporate events. It was fun not just to write grants, but also to get to know our donors and be involved in building relationships. So, did you have to learn quickly? Yes! But in [HGO Chief Advancement Officer] Greg Robertson, [Senior
Director of Development] Deborah Hirsch, and David, I had great support and mentorship. After David left, I was delighted to be trusted enough to head the department. Our fabulous corporate, foundation, and government partners— the very people who work so hard to keep our city going—work just as hard to make sure Houston has great arts. It’s humbling. It’s also incredibly humbling to work with my HGO colleagues—I can’t believe I get to share a vending machine with these people. I’m guessing that you didn’t expect to be running an institutional giving department for an opera company when you were at college. Not at all. And yet, I can’t imagine it any other way!