A Note From the President...

It seems like I just started as president of the Youngstown Opera Guild,  (YOG) and yet so much has happened in such a short time.  I want to thank all of you for putting your trust in me to guide the YOG for the next two years.  I will do my best to take it in the right direction.  The board of directors has grown to include many few faces and some familiar ones too.  We will be introducing them to you in this edition.

YOG is making changes, not only in the structure of the board, but, in how we also will be fund raising to support the Dana Students and in our methods of bringing opera to the community, which is a large part of our mission statement.

Bus excursions will still be a part of our fundraising, but with the ever constant increase of ticket prices and bus rental, we cannot possibly continue as many as three or four trips per year, without increasing prices.  This is something the board is looking into now.  We will keep you posted.

In June, James Boyd and I attended, the Opera America’s International Meeting, which was held in Pittsburgh.  YOG was by far the smallest Opera Guild represented. With the likes of St. Louis, Miami, and San Francisco, we looked like a very small fish in a very large pond. But when compared to what the other groups were doing we have a lot to be proud of.  Enclosed in this newsletter is a photocopy of the article about YOG that made the international newsletter of Opera Volunteer International, which we are an affiliate of.

There is so much to do and only two years to do it in. But with the support of the YOG members and our trusty board of directors, we will continue to move onward and upward.

Carla L. Infante
President, Youngstown Opera Guild

About Us

The Youngstown Opera Guild has been in existence since 1981. The guild's original mission was to support local opera productions. In 1992 the Opera Guild decided to expand its purpose to include not only the support of opera in the Mahoning Valley, but the awarding of scholarships to opera students of the Dana School of Music, YSU. The guild has also initiated a program which hopes to encourage area school children to learn about opera. The program is called "OPERA CAN BE FUN". In addition, The Youngstown Opera Guild has been instrumental in the creation of workshops and master classes for area opera students which have been conducted by Giorgio Tozzi, Lorenzo Malfatti, Tito Capobianco, and Robert Nagy.

Executive Board of Directors

President
Carla L. Infante

Vice President
James Boyd

Recording Secretary
Sandra Gatta

Corresponding Secretary
Sylvia Fabian

Treasurer
Lydia F. Infante

Board Members
Jackie Abrams
Troy Ayers
Robert Burkey
John D'Apolito
Valentino DeVito
Patricia Fleck Kavic
Alan Mosher
David Venerose
David Vosburgh