The Program:
President Jim turned to Laurie Harrison, our speaker chair for the year, who gave a brief background on Gus Stuhlreyer, the Rotarian of the Day. Gus first joined Rotary in Atlanta and his ‘fun fact’ was that he met many of the iconic civil rights leaders during his stay there. (Rotarians also appreciate the fact that Gus has been chair of our Finance Committee for many years; he keeps a close watch on our operational expenses and supplies many options for the club leadership to choose from.) Gus then introduced our guest speaker, Adam Turner, with whom he worked closely for several years. Gus noted that Adam is a participant in the various aspects of the local musical scene, attending symphony concerts as well as other musical groups.
Adam Turner has been the Artistic Director of the Virginia Opera for three years. But he first worked with the Opera in 2008. Along with Adam, Whitney Robinson joined the meeting to share her experiences in the Emerging Artists program.
Adam opened up with the challenges the Opera has faced since everything shut down in March. The artistic staff and the board have sought to answer the question: how can we enrich the lives of everyone in this unusual era? They have also grappled with the challenge of finding employment for the backstage staff. A substantial number of people have been put out of work due to the cancellation of live events. So they created the program ‘Stayin’ Alive’ as a vehicle to experiment with new forms and to stay relevant to people in the community. They brought back four of their Emerging Artists some time back and—after suitable quarantine—they began to create new formats and seek out new venues.
‘Stayin’ Alive’ includes the new ‘Weekly Wednesday Wind Down’ which is a program on the lawn of the Harrison Opera House. The artists will perform a variety of musical pieces—not only operatic arias. There are also performances scheduled at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens (all sold out already), the Virginia Zoo, and at Five Points for pop-up performances. The idea is to make opera accessible to all of our citizens. (Go to the VaOpera website for specific dates and times!)
Whitney Robinson, a mezzo-soprano, explained how she has used her time since March to get into new programs. She has become her own Tech Director so she can record and film herself in a digital program. But last week she got to perform live for the first time since last spring. She was excited to share her passion and enthusiasm for live performance. She was touched when a young child rode by their live performance last Friday, gave them a thumbs up and yelled “still awesome.”
Gus asked Adam to detail the future plans for the opera season; the current plan is to restart performances in early February with LaVoix Humaine and Gianni Schicchi. All appropriate protocols will be followed. Adam suggested that it might be wiser/safer to eliminate intermissions, shorten the programs, and have less chance of contact for the audience.
Rotarian Steve Jones commended the Opera for their quick decision to cancel in March and the speed with which they refunded the ticket costs. He also wished that all artistic programs be so quick to reconceive their formats.
Adam pointed out that Virginia Opera is small enough to be more nimble than larger entities. They have demonstrated that they can ‘pivot’ and bring opera back to earth. Opera does not need to be restricted to the concert hall to be relevant in our lives. In short, it was an inspiring program which everyone appreciated.
The Meeting:
- President Jim kicked off the meeting with approximately 44 participants. He turned to Eleanor and Roger Schoonover for a lovely rendition of ‘Let There Be Peace on Earth’ and ‘America.’
- Following the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four Way Test, Barry Kesser gave the invocation. He noted the challenges of the pandemic and the natural catastrophes; he asked us to open our hearts and hands and to provide comfort to others.
Visitation/Introduction of Visitors:
- Joe Massey asked for help in contacting Jean Owens at Westminster Canterbury. There were no other reports of Rotarians with medical issues.
- Guests were our two speakers as well as Lisa Sands, a former Rotarian, who is with the Virginia Opera.
Club Business:
- President Jim reminded us of another cleanup opportunity at Barraud Park. It’s easy to social distance and not terribly onerous to clean up trash, but you should bring a mask.
- There will be a Fall Fundraising Meeting on Thursday, September 24, at 4:30 pm; Jeff Welles will host.
- On Friday, September 25, we will gather for a Letter Writing Campaign to the EVMS students who received the copper-infused masks from our district grant.
Happy Bucks & Fines:
- Your scribe volunteered substantial Happy Bucks because she called upon a fellow Rotarian for professional advice.
- John McLemore provided that advice and was very thorough in following up. (The message is that Rotarians have a depth of experience that you can draw upon when in need.)
- Barbara Lipskis promoted an interview with acclaimed writer and director, Mike Wiley, on Wednesday, September 16th, 5:30-6:30pm. Not your usual podcast. But you must go to the VSC website to register for the Zoom meeting!
- Bob Batcher was pleased to announce that Prime Plus will restart Adult Day Service as of Sept. 28th.
- President Jim also fessed up that he had been interviewed by Bob Batcher about Rotary, and that this would be promoted on the Rotary.
- Last but not least…President Jim praised the Army Football Team which is now the best twenty-second place team in the country with a record of 2-0. (But wait til they play Navy!)
Conclusion:
- President Jim reminded everyone that we won’t meet for two weeks (as September has five Tuesdays). He also had us complete an online quiz to see if we would come to an in-person meeting.