Membership Is Our Lifeblood
Join the Opera Guild of Dayton Today!
Your membership is very important to us
NOTE: Paypal is the processing tool that the Guild uses for handling money. However, you may join using your Paypal account OR your personal credit card. Click here to fill out an online Membership Form.
- Contact Managing Vice President of Membership, Carol Erwine, 937/372-6445 or at carol1449@woh.rr.com.
- Or contact the Guild at 937/224-3521 ext. 1099.
- Click here to print a copy of our Membership Application. Please mail the completed form to: Carol Erwine, P. O. Box 85, Bellbrook, Ohio 45305.
DID YOU KNOW…
The summary below is a general review of how the Opera Guild of Dayton membership fulfilled the Guild’s mission of encouraging and promoting opera in the Greater Dayton area and supported Dayton Opera through fundraising, marketing, and education activities in 2019-2020.
Financial contributions of $71,097 to Dayton Opera:
- Series sponsorship of $30,000 for the production of La Cenerentola
- Annual operating support of $32,500
- Artists-in-Residence support of $7,500
- Mead Theatre for the Student’s Night @ Dress Rehearsal – $1,097
In-kind donations to Dayton Opera:
- 255 nights of home hospitality valued at $66/night to cast members for a savings of $16,830. Rosalie Jennings has chaired this initiative for over ten years.
- Volunteer ushers for two dress rehearsals and airport transportation for visiting artists.
- Volunteers prepared and served hearty snack food and beverages to cast members for the first “onstage” rehearsal for each production.
- The value of these transportation, volunteer, and prepared food hours – priceless!
Education Programs:
Students’ Night @ Dress Rehearsal: 150 students, junior high through college were hosted by the Opera Guild of Dayton for the dress rehearsal of Dayton Opera’s production of La Boheme by Puccini at the Schuster Center on November 13, 2019. Judy Hudson chaired this initiative with members of the Opera Guild volunteering as ushers.
Opera Marionettes: Coordinated by chair Nora Stang, Opera Marionettes put on 13 performances in Fall 2019 to approximately 650 students. They had to cancel a similar number of performances already scheduled for Spring 2020.
Children’s Traveling Opera (CTO): Co-chairs Linda Rountree, Pat Ferguson and Janis Combs, and their crew managed to put on 14 performances of the Children’s Traveling Opera production of The Barber of Seville to approximately 1500 students this past Fall. Unfortunately, they had to cancel 13 performances already scheduled for Spring 2020.
High School Vocal Competition: This Competition was scheduled for March 28 but due to Covid-19 ended up being canceled. Chairman Dr. David Sievers and his crew spent much of the winter organizing the event so this was a very difficult decision.
The Tri-State College Vocal Competition: This was originally scheduled for April 5. Instead, TSCVC chair Ginger Minneman organized a virtual vocal competition. She consulted and coordinated with the preliminary judges, Jeffrey Powell and Dr. Peter Keates, and the finalist judges, Martin Bakari, Tom Bankston, and Mary Henderson Stuckey to use the recordings provided by the applicants for the competition this year. Six finalists were chosen and 4 winners were announced in late May. It was decided to award a 4th place winner since there could be no audience favorite this year. A total of $7,300 in prize money was awarded.
Fund Raising and Special Events:
Bravo! 2019: The annual Champagne Brunch and Fashion Show was chaired by Nancy Farkas and Margarete Jennings on Friday, September 6th. Guests were entertained at Sinclair Community College’s Ponitz Center. The runway event was produced by Chic & Unique Expressions, a local pop-up boutique. Community model voting this year offered a diverse group of Perfect Pairs. Proceeds from this event exceeded $10,000.
Spring Fundraiser 2020: Our event, An Evening at the Café Carlisle, has been postponed until the spring of 2021 due to state mandated Covid-19 restrictions.
The Membership Luncheon, Stars of Tomorrow Luncheon and Garden Party were all cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
2019-2020 Annual Meeting: An email was sent to the membership with updates in lieu of an actual meeting. Announcements included honoring Barbara Bostick as the recipient of the BRAVO! 2020 Award, and Lee Monnin with the Friend of the Year 2020 Award for their long standing support of the Guild. The members were asked to vote on the website for the approval of the 2020-2021 budget, the minutes from the 2019 Annual Meeting, and to adopt the slate of Board of Directors.
Marketing and Communications:
Opera Notes: The Guild’s printed newsletter is not currently being published.
operaguildofdayton.org: The Guild’s webpage is frequently updated to keep members and others updated on the latest events and other important news. Applications for the Vocal Competitions were handled on line in 2020. In addition, the vocal sample entries and judging for the Tri-State College Vocal Competition were completely virtual for the first time in 2020. Members can submit their annual membership dues online and can pay for most events via the website as well. Donations can be made through the site for the Remembrance Fund as a memorial to someone who has passed away or to honor someone for an achievement. Suzanne Crippen chaired this initiative.
e-Notes: The Guild continues to use Mail Chimp to blast important advisories and other information to members and opera friends. This tool has been critically important when timeliness of news is crucial. Suzanne Crippen chaired this initiative.
Stay in touch with the Guild
Volunteers Needed
Volunteers are currently needed to assist in making sandwiches and cookies for the cast and crew on the Monday prior to opening night of an opera. This is a very long rehearsal day for everyone and the refreshments are sincerely appreciated. If you can help, please e-mail Edna Vanderkarr, managing vice president of special events/hospitality, at edna.vanderkarr@gmail.com or call 937/433-2537.
The Guild has a robust schedule for our educational programs and is looking for new volunteers to assist. Contact Nora Stang at 937/474-1567 or nstang@woh.rr.com for Opera Marionettes or Linda Rountree at 937/429-1503 or lindarountree@woh.rr.com for Children’s Traveling Opera.
Ushers are needed for dress rehearsals on the Wednesday prior to opening night of an opera. Contact Edna Vanderkarr at 937/433-2537 or edna.vanderkarr@gmail.com.
Volunteers can assist Dr. David Sievers at the High School Vocal Competition scheduled for March 24, 2020. Duties include the reception desk, escorting students to rehearsal areas, feeding the judges and volunteers and more. Contact Dr. Sievers at 937/229-4971 or dsievers1@udayton.edu.
The Marketing Team is looking for writers and a content coordinator for Opera Notes, assistance with social media and the website, oversight at the Marketing Table at Dayton Opera performances and public speakers.