Opera.ca announces recipient of the 2009/10 National Opera Directors Recognition Award

8 December, 2009

SPONSORED BY BMO FINANCIAL GROUP

MS ALBERTA CEFIS OF OPERA ATELIER

Toronto, ON – Opera.ca, the national association for opera in Canada, is proud to announce the recipient of the Opera.ca National Opera Directors Recognition Program, Ms Alberta Cefis, Chair of the Board of Directors, for Opera Atelier. In its second year, this distinction, sponsored by BMO Financial Group, honours one opera board director annually for exemplary leadership and support on behalf of their opera company and the community they serve.

In acknowledging the dedication of board members across the country, the National Opera Directors Recognition Award highlights the tenets of good governance, celebrates models of volunteer excellence and raises the bar for board director commitment.

“BMO is pleased honour Ms Cefis as this year’s honouree of the National Opera Directors Recognition Award.” said Nada Ristich, Senior Manager, Corporate Donations, at BMO Financial Group. “As a supporter of many opera companies in Canada, BMO understands the critical role volunteer directors play in developing their local opera companies as cultural pillars in their community.”

“We are very proud that Alberta Cefis has been recognized with this award. Her dedication is matched by a genuine and passionate interest in opera and ballet,” stated Marshall Pynkoski, Co-Artistic Director for Opera Atelier. “She has led the company through very difficult times to a period of artistic creativity and financial and administrative stability that other companies only dream of.”

Pynkoski added that under Ms. Cefis’ leadership, the company has moved to a two-production subscription season in Toronto’s historic Elgin Theatre, selling up to 18,000 tickets a year, while continuing to tour every other year. The company’s budget is now approaching $2.5M and under Ms Cefis’ aegis, Opera Atelier has realized a 30% increase in subscriptions and a 27% increase in fundraising revenues in the last fiscal year.

“Opera.ca is delighted to be joining with BMO Financial Group in extending this honour to Ms Cefis who has played a vital role for Opera Atelier” stated Christina Loewen, Executive Director for Opera.ca.

“Opera.ca places a high priority on the development of leadership capacity within the opera sector and Ms Cefis represents the impact that this leadership can have within the governance of an opera company.”

An Adjudication Committee oversees the selection process, choosing one recipient annually. This year’s Adjudication Committee was chaired by Opera.ca Board member, Monica Sloan, also past Chair of Calgary Opera. She was joined by Nada Ristich, Senior Manager, Corporate Donations, BMO Financial Group, Monette Malewski, an active business and community leader and president of École Superieure de Ballet Contemporain de Montréal, Kevin Patterson, General Director, Austin Lyric Opera and Rob Collins, inaugural recipient and past board member of the Canadian Opera Company.

Opera.ca member companies are eligible to nominate one director each year for the honour.

Opera.ca’s commitment to recognizing excellence in governance stems from a belief shared with sister association OPERA America, that the strength of an opera company is directly linked to the quality of governance demonstrated by its board members. OPERA America demonstrates this belief through their Annual National Opera Trustee Recognition Award, in which a single honouree is chosen from each of the four OPERA America budget levels.

Joining Ms Cefis in receiving this honour in February 2010 in New York City are OPERA America’s National Opera Trustee Recognition honourees for 2009/10.

About Opera.ca

Opera.ca is the national association for opera companies and professionals in Canada. It seeks to create and sustain an environment that makes opera central to Canadian life. It works with members across the country to advance the interests of Canada’s opera community and create greater opportunity for opera audiences and professionals alike.

About Opera Atelier

Opera Atelier is Canada’s premier baroque theatre company, dedicated to producing opera, ballet and drama from the 17th and 18th centuries. While drawing upon the aesthetics and ideals of the period, Opera Atelier goes beyond “reconstruction” and infuses each production with an inventive theatricality that resonates with modern audiences. For more than two decades, under the direction of founders Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, Opera Atelier has garnered acclaim for its performances at home as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia.

long-time COC director first recipient of Opera.ca National Opera Directors Recognition award

LONG-TIME COC DIRECTOR FIRST RECIPIENT OF OPERA.CA NATIONAL OPERA DIRECTORS RECOGNITION AWARD

AWARD SPONSORED BY BMO FINANCIAL GROUP

Toronto, Ontario – The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is delighted to announce that one of its long-time volunteer leaders, J. Rob Collins, has received the Opera.ca National Opera Directors Recognition Award for his extraordinary contributions to the Canadian Opera Company as a director and role model for excellence in governance.

Sponsored by BMO Financial Group, and aligned with Opera.ca’s sister organization, OPERA America, the Opera.ca National Opera Directors Recognition Award honours the contribution of one director whose efforts have helped to ensure the health of an opera company and the art form’s availability for future generations.

Rob Collins has been a COC Director for 16 years. His roles have included President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Canadian Opera House Corporation (COHC) Building Committee, and Chair of the Board’s Nominating Committee. Intimately involved with every aspect of the company’s administration for almost two decades, Mr. Collins has been a tireless champion and advocate for the COC, and his leadership, tenacity, drive, determination and generosity have been extraordinary. In particular, his guidance during the construction of the company’s opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, has been unmatched.

I am truly honoured to be the first recipient of this award,” says Rob Collins. “To me, it recognizes the tremendous accomplishments of the Canadian Opera Company over the years and, particularly, recently. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me to be a part of the COC during this time. I have been able to work with a dedicated and accomplished staff, outstanding artistic talent and many committed volunteers, including my fellow directors.”

Shortly after former General Director Richard Bradshaw revived the COC’s dream to build an opera house in 1998, Rob was named Chair of the COHC Building Committee taking responsibility for making sure that the company’s new opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, was built on time and on budget. In that capacity and in many others over the years, Rob chaired countless board and committee meetings, attended dozens of cultivation events, solicited scores of prospective donors and made numerous site visits. While serving as Chair of the COHC Building Committee, Rob was named President of the COC. During his two-year term as President (2004 – 2006), he not only participated in the conversion of a parking lot into a world-class opera house, but also presided over the board’s supervision of the COC’s operations, including fundraising and world-class productions.

“Rob has done so much for the company over the years, and even though he has just retired from the board, he is always there when we need him for advice and help,” says COC General Director Alexander Neef. “From the moment we met during my nomination process, Rob has been a mentor to me. His personal and professional support has been extremely important, and I am very grateful to Opera.ca for recognizing his dedication and effort.”

Based in Toronto, the Canadian Opera Company is the largest producer of opera in Canada and one of the largest in North America, and has an international reputation for artistic excellence and creative innovation. The COC currently enjoys a remarkable 99% attendance rate for its mainstage season. The company’s new home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, was designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects Inc. and is Canada’s first purpose-built opera house. Acclaimed as one of the best opera houses in the world, the Four Seasons Centre is also the performance venue for The National Ballet of Canada.

Opera.ca announces recipient of National Opera Directors Recognition Award

OPERA.CA ANNOUNCES RECIPIENT OF THE NEW NATIONAL OPERA DIRECTORS RECOGNITION AWARD SPONSORED BY BMO FINANCIAL GROUP

J. ROB COLLINS

Toronto, 27 January 2009

Opera.ca, the national association for opera, is proud to announce the first recipient of the Opera.ca National Opera Directors Recognition Program, Mr. J. Rob Collins of the Canadian Opera Company. In its inaugural year, this distinction, sponsored by BMO Financial Group, honours one opera board director annually for exemplary leadership and support on behalf of their opera company and the community they serve.

In acknowledging the dedication of board members across the country, the National Opera Directors Recognition Program highlights the tenets of good governance, celebrates models of volunteer excellence and raises the bar for board director commitment. The following excerpt from the COC’s nomination highlights the accomplishments of this year’s honouree, Mr. J. Rob Collins. “For 16 years, Rob Collins served as a Canadian Opera Company Director, including as Chair and President of the Board of Directors, and Chair of the Canadian Opera House Company’s (COHC) Building Committee. A successful lawyer in his own right with the firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Mr. Collins dedicated an unprecedented amount of time and leadership to the COC in ensuring that the vision of a world-class opera house for the COC, now the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, became a reality.”