Join Cincinnati Opera Center Stage and special guests for an open and honest discussion about creating meaningful community connections. The conversation features a panel of arts administrators discussing how cultural organizations can establish and nurture partnerships that serve diverse communities. Evans Mirageas moderates the program, which concludes with a question-and-answer session.
Panelists will include:
Libby Hunter, executive director, WordPlay Cincy
Angela Powell Walker, artistic director, School for Creative and Performing Arts
Tracy L. Wilson, director of community engagement & education, Cincinnati Opera
This event will be streamed live—registration is not required. Watch on Facebook or YouTube on Tuesday, March 23, at 7:00 p.m.
About the Panelists
Libby Hunter
Libby has initiated, led, and served on numerous nonprofit organizations on an international, national, and local level. She earned her BA in East European studies from the University of Massachusetts and an MA in Central Eurasian studies from Indiana University. After serving as a Fulbright Research Fellow in Budapest, Hungary, Libby left academia for the nonprofit world, spanning educational work with the East European Village Project and Learning Enterprises, refugee resettlement with the Hungarian Red Cross and Catholic Charities, and later promoting sustainable, affordable urban redevelopment in residential real estate. A random encounter with teens in her Northside neighborhood led to the co-founding of WordPlay in 2012, seeking a unique and compelling way to bridge social divides and provide a platform for marginalized voices through creative youth development programs with storytelling at their core.
Angela Powell Walker
Critically acclaimed throughout the United States and Europe for her “quintessential lyric soprano voice,” soloist Angela Powell Walker personifies the highest standards of artistic performance in today’s classical music world. She has appeared in numerous operatic roles, including the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Micaëla in Carmen, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She is a longtime favorite of concert audiences at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and her work has been enthusiastically received at the Metropolitan Opera and by audiences in Rome, Prague, and Vienna.
Angela is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory (BM) and University of Maryland (MM). She has successfully entered the world of teaching and arts administration. Angela previously served as the producing artistic director of The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati and is currently the artistic director for the School for Creative and Performing Arts. She serves on the boards of CCMpower, American Legacy Theatre, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and on the executive board of Cincinnati Opera.
Tracy L. Wilson
Friends and colleagues fondly refer to Cincinnati Opera Director of Community Engagement & Education and 2008 Emmy Award® nominee Tracy L. Wilson as the “The Connection Lady.” Tracy has created and produced a number of Cincinnati Opera community events and programs, including the hit concert series Opera Goes to Church and Temple! and Community Open Dress Rehearsal. A veteran arts administrator, ambassador, and producer, Tracy is considered a trailblazer in the Cincinnati arts community and regularly serves as a community engagement consultant, presenter, video producer, and production director for local and national organizations and events.
In 2018, Tracy was honored to be an invited delegate and provocateur for the first World Opera Forum in Madrid, Spain. Tracy was featured in ArtsWave’s book The Power of HER, Women in the Arts, and was the recipient of the 2020 MAC Award for Diversity and Leadership in the Arts by The Multicultural Awareness Council (MAC) of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Tracy currently serves as chair of the Local School Decision Making Committee (LSDMC) for Rothenberg Preparatory Academy and on OPERA America’s Racial Justice Opera Network.