Outgoing President’s Message
Greetings from your outgoing President! I am thrilled that Marilyn Leck, former Guild President from 1999-2000, has volunteered to serve as the Interim Guild President from January 1-June 30, 2023.
Patricia Pavia led a search committee that included Marilyn Leck, Florence Rose Thompson, Stew Law, and Emily Mattson, who recruited a full Interim Board to serve from January 1-June 30, 2023. Several Interim Board members have already served on the outgoing board, and are willing to continue, some in new positions. There are also members new to the Guild who wanted to serve on the Board. Bringing in new members to the Guild is critical to our survival!
My focus for the past two and a half years has been to provide service to each and every member who has paid at least $60 to join the Guild for one year. I have worked hard to make that happen.
We signed a contract with Josh DeLacy, our webmaster, in April 2021 to redesign our website: www.seattleoperaguild.org. Josh brought the new website online on the Fourth of July! Our website incorporated our updated database, which was being set up that spring by Roberta Lyon. Roberta also developed our new 2021-2022 Membership Directory.
The Membership Directory provided the foundation to create our mailing lists for our special events, which began with the Annual Summer Business Meeting and Luncheon at the Seattle Yacht Club on Thursday, August 12, 2021. It was 95 degrees that day, but 50 members and guests joined us at the Seattle Yacht Club for the luncheon outdoors under an awning along the beautiful Seattle Ship Canal. We enjoyed performances by two our outstanding SDA award winners.
Our next event was the October 10, 2021 preview of La bohème performed at Cogir of Queen Anne. Christine Szabadi, our VP of Education, selected the pianist and singers– winners from our SDA auditions. Thirty-eight attended that event (only 40 were allowed as it was during COVID). There were many positive comments about this first preview event since the COVID pandemic began.
Our next large event was our Annual Holiday Luncheon on December 9, 2021 at the Seattle Tennis Club, co-chaired by Patricia Pavia and Suzy, and sponsored by Mark Metcalf. Our singers were SDA award winners (Grace Skinner and Ivy Zhou), accompanied by pianist Elisabeth Ellis. We missed the outbreak of the Omicron variant by one week!
On June 11, 2022, we held our Annual Business Meeting and Luncheon at the Seattle Yacht Club, sponsored by member Pam Johnson. Suzy had contracted Covid, so Judi Kalitzki ran the business meeting, and the newly revised bylaws were approved by the membership. About 40 attended, but sadly the scheduled music had to be cancelled due to COVID. On Sunday, July 24, Guild members were invited to join the Musical Notes Club at Trilogy of Redmond Ridge to see a preview of Donizetti’s Elixir of Love, performed by Glenda Williams, pianist, Rob McPherson, tenor (the “Drunken Sailor” for Seattle Opera), Glenn Guhr, baritone, and Ksenia Popova, soprano. About 50 attended in all, including 17 Guild members.
Patricia Pavia organized our first-ever Summer Opera Party, again at Cogir, on Saturday afternoon, August 20. Fifty-five members and guests attended. After the singing, the guests convened on the Roof Terrace at Cogir to enjoy their appetizers and cocktails. The temperature was in the 80s and we could see the Space Needle at this exquisite afternoon event. Gail Halpern won five tickets to the SO production of La Traviata in a drawing!
On Saturday, October 8, the Seattle Opera Guild presented a preview of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, again at Cogir of Queen Anne, sponsored by Florence Rose Thompson. Thirty members and guests attended the musical performance, coordinated by Glenda Williams, pianist and narrator, with Charles Robert Stephens, baritone, Corinna Quilliam, soprano, and Rob McPherson, tenor. Again, we convened on the Rooftop Terrace for appetizers, cocktails and wine.
The last event was our Annual Holiday Luncheon, again at the Seattle Tennis Club on December 15. Sixty-nine attended this luncheon, enjoying their friends at their preview group tables and the festive holiday music performed by Lisa Bergman, narrator and pianist, Hugh Davis, baritone, Stacey Mastrian, soprano, and Heidi Vanderford, mezzo soprano, all winners of our 2022 Singers’ Development Awards.
Florence Rose Thompson was honored for her 21 years of service to the Guild. Christina Scheppelmann, General Director of Seattle Opera, attended and brought three staff members who were interspersed with Guild members at the preview group tables so Guild members could get to know them. Maryanne Tagney, Chair of the Seattle Opera Board of Directors, also attended. Our outgoing Board members were honored and the new Interim Board
members were introduced.
After 60 years, remarkably the Guild is still going strong, due to the dedication and commitment of many Guild members and friends, not just those who serve on the Board. I thank you for showing up at these events, as that has made all the difference in keeping the Seattle Opera Guild strong, visible and relevant. It has been an honor to have served as your President.
Special thanks go to my Board members who “kept the faith” in the viability of the Guild: Sally Buckingham, Treasurer; Patricia Pavia, VP of Special Events; Mary Scott, Secretary; Emily Bennett, Chair of Vivace; Florence Rose Thompson, Chair of Magnolia-Queen Anne; Frank Gregory, Database Manager; Judi Kalitzki, VP of Communication and L’Aria editor; Christine Szabadi and Jonathan Gerson, VP of Education; Zoe Erickson, VP of Membership; Stew Law, Trustee; Brenna Pink Pampena, Trustee, and Gayle Charlesworth, Past President 2017-2020 and VP of Administration. I couldn’t have done it without you!
— Suzy Mygatt Wakefield