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NewsLetter - April 2017
Join Us At Our Coming
Events
SOG Presents Scholarships to Outstanding
Artists
Sarasota Opera's Salute to the Stars Awards Luncheon on March
Friday, Apr. 7, 5:30pm
Celebration Dinner and
Installation of Officers
Bird Key Yacht Club
24, 2017, celebrated Opera artists and staff of superior ability and
potential and featured performances by this year's Artist Award
winners. In addition to the Opera company's awards, the Sarasota
Opera Guild was pleased to present its four scholarships.
Thursday, Apr. 20, 4:30pm
Annual Picnic at Turtle Beach
Thursday, June 8, 11:30am
Summer Salon I
Giuseppina Ciarla, Principal
Harpist
Michael's on East, 1212 S. East
Ave. Sarasota
Thursday, July 13, 11:30am
Summer Salon II
Sudha Bhawat, renowned Indian
dancer
Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John
Ringling Blvd, Sarasota
Hanna Brammer Dillon, shown with
Richard Cook, received the Mary Cook
Memorial Award for an outstanding
artist. Hanna has performed with
Nashville Opera, Opera Memphis, and
covered the role of Norina in Don
Pasquale here this fall.
Receiving awards for outstanding apprentice artists were (from the
left) Tobias Wright, the Scheininger-Reznick Apprentice
Scholarship; Beibei Guan, The Anne J. O'Donnell Award; and Anna
Bridgman, the Leo M.
Rogers Award. The
Tuesday, Aug. 8, 11:30am
Summer Salon III
Dueling Trombones: Brad and
Jamie Williams
Michael's on East, 1212 S. East
Ave. Sarasota
apprentice artists are shown
with Peter Phillipes, SOG
President. Congratulations
to all the awards winners!
See more photos and details
Friday, Dec. 8
Poinsettia Luncheon
Bird Key Yacht Club
on our Facebook page.
Welcome New Members!
Penny Kobernusz
Anthony and Lenore Pirotti
SOG Helps Students Get to the Opera
The Sarasota Opera Guild's March 14 meeting at the Jewish
Congregation of Venice included the Guild's presentation of another
At the March Social
and Singers
$10,000 check to Sarasota Opera. Accepting the check from SOG
President Peter Phillipes is Stephen Francher, SOA Development Officer.
In all, the Guild has budgeted more than $50,000 in support of the Opera
this year.
In addition to the the Guild's
donation of $7,500 to
the Sarasota Youth Opera,
we raised an additional
$1,000, dubbed the "Wheels
Marylynn Wheatley, Pat Barron,
Karen Murphree
on the Bus" gift, to help defray
transportation costs to get
students to the opera. While
the opera provides tickets to
the operas, schools may not
have the funds to provide the buses to get them there.
According to Director of Education Ben Jewell-Plocher, teachers of
Suzy Phillipes with Tony and Lee
Pirroti
foreign languages are anxious to have their students attend opera, and
this year, about 400 students came to the dress rehearsals for The Italian
Girl in Algiers and an additional 70 French students attended Dialogues
of the Carmelites. Ben noted that Sarasota Youth Opera is the only
company in the country to have an annual youth production, which it has
done for over 30 years, and has also commissioned six new works. He
thanked the Guild for its support of the Sarasota Youth Opera in these
endeavors.
Joe and Carol Kreit
Jean Dreifort and Ellen Granick
Entertaining us with their fine voices in March were Sean Christensen,
Jessica Jones, Fleur Barron, Maestro Kevin Miller on piano, Stephanie
Sanchez, and Jared Guest, who sang selections from I Puritani, Lakme,
Romeo and Juliet, The Italian Girl in Algiers, and a quintet from Carmen.
(Photos courtesy of Richard Katz.)
Opera staff: Stephen Francher,
Ben Plocker, Sam Lowrey
(Photos courtesy of Richard Katz)
At Noel Coward
and Opera
President's Message
by Peter Phillipes
With the conclusion of an extended and
well-deserved standing ovation and
encore at the Spring Opera Spectacular
on March 26, the 2017 Winter Opera
Season came to a close—though those
in attendance gladly would have stayed
for more. Despite the absence of Verdi,
the noteworthy season provided us with
Artists Monia Joblin, Alan
Brasington, Jan Wallace
the best production of Madama Butterfly in recent memory; one of
the funniest operas ever seen in Sarasota—The Italian Girl in
Algiers; the extremely sad, but memorably performed, Dialogue of
the Carmelites; and the beautifully presented Love of Three Kings,
which returned to Sarasota after a 14-year absence. When all that
is combined with Sarasota Opera’s first-ever production of Don
Pasquale in the fall, the Youth Opera production of The Secret
World of Og, the Apprentice Concert, and the Artists Choice
Concert, it is clear that we have had a broad and very entertaining
opportunity to enjoy opera in Sarasota.
Eva Slane
While the Sarasota Opera season is ended, Guild activities,
however, will continue through April with the Celebration Dinner at
the Bird Key Yacht Club, featuring special guest, Maestro Victor
DeRenzi, on the 7th, and the Annual Turtle Beach Picnic, with a
great barbeque meal and summer fashion show, on the 20th. After
a brief break in May, we will resume with three wonderful Summer
Salons at great venues in June, July, and August.
George Straschnov and Colette
Penn
At the May Board Meeting, the Guild’s leadership team will change,
as Antoinette Dowling becomes President, Zona Starks becomes
First Vice President, Pat Dodge becomes Second Vice President
and Michael Bowers becomes Treasurer. Antonette Cunningham
and Sunny Brownrout will be leaving the Board with our thanks and
best wishes after many years of valuable service. Cecile Adams
will take over the Assistant Treasurer position, and Barbara
O’Connor has agreed to serve as Poinsettia Luncheon Committee
Irwin Jones and Barbara Driscoll
Chair. The remaining officers will continue for another term. The
Guild will be led by a talented and experienced team in 2017-18.
After two fascinating years as Guild President, which went by
rapidly, I will move into the Past President’s chair in May and have
agreed to co-Chair the 2018 Celebration Dinner with Zona Starks. I
have had a wonderful experience, working closely with a great
Guild Board and membership, and I have received valuable,
continuous support from members of the Opera staff at all levels.
Pat and Greg Reinhart
Many thanks to all those who have served, helped, or just listened.
Best regards,
Peter
Guild Members - Extraordinary People
The Reverend Doctor William Cargo
The Reverend Doctor William A. Cargo
Rick and Sherry Wheeler
uses music to underscore his devotion to
God.
Gathered around the piano and singing
together as a family is one of Reverend
William’s (Bill's) earliest memories. “My
mother could play the piano and my father
taught himself to play. Music has always
Marsha and Hugh Kindall-Smith
been part of my life, and I find it deeply spiritual especially the
compositions of Anton Bruckner.”
Reverend Cargo has a college major in organ performance and
tenor voice. He spent 16 years as a conductor of a community
choir and orchestra where he performed mostly classical music.
Besides playing the piano, organ, and trombone, Bill is a
professional singer who has sung with the Nashville Opera Chorus
and has been a member of several choruses that have performed
internationally. Locally, Bill sings with the Venice Chorale. Bill’s
Jack Landgrebe and Pat Dodge
extensive knowledge of classical music comes in part from his very
large personal collection of classical records. “I am an audiophile,”
Bill proudly boasts. He is also the loving husband of AJ Cargo.
Although musically talented, Bill’s choice for a career was that of
Methodist Minister. To become a Methodist Minister was both a
practical decision and a decision born out of love. “In the ministry,”
Bill confides,” I had a stable career and didn’t have to give up my
music.” Bill asserts that he is a bit of a mystic, which strengthened
his ministerial decision. In one such experience, Reverend Cargo
relates, “I was alone in a natural setting in Mexico. The moon was
Lenee Owens
full, and I felt a lifting of the veil of reality, a suspension of time, and
(Photos courtesy of Ray Broth)
See photos of all our events on
our Facebook page.
I felt a connectedness among all living things.”
In the Reverend’s successful 40-year career as a Minister, the
hardest challenge in the ministry was to try to console someone for
a loss that was both tragic and senseless. “There are no words,”
says Bill. “All you can do is love them: hug them, hold their hands.”
Reverend Cargo earned a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music
from Ohio Wesleyan University; Master of Divinity from Union
Acknowledge a special
occasion, thank someone for
their help, or recognize a friend
with a contribution to the
Thinking of You Scholarship
Fund. Your gift of $15 or more
is tax deductible. Please send
your Thinking of You tribute
and check, made payable to
SOG, to
Michael Bowers
9925 Laurel Valley Avenue Circle
Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202
941-704-0284
[email protected]
Theological Seminary; and Doctor of Theology from Vanderbilt
University School of Theology.
The advice Reverend Cargo would offer to young people is twofold:
First, “Strive for a Win-Win. Try to reach a compromise where you
don’t have a winner and a loser.” Second, “Make the decision to
be happy, because it is a decision.”
The Sarasota Opera Guild is fortunate to have the Reverend
Doctor William A. Cargo as a member.
We have all had exciting lives and accomplished amazing things. If
you would like to share your story, or would like to recommend
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Sarasota Opera Guild NewsLetter
Editor: Ann Waller
Contact [email protected]
with comments and suggestions.
The Sarasota Opera Guild was
organized to foster, promote, and
increase knowledge
and appreciation of opera in the
community in conjunction with
Sarasota Opera; to encourage and
assist young singers; and to
sponsor projects to raise funds for
the opera.
If you are interested in joining or
becoming more active in the Guild,
please contact Zona Starks, 941483-3283,
[email protected].
someone you think should be spotlighted, please contact Jodie
Myers at [email protected].
Time to Renew Your Membership
The Guild's membership year is June 1 through May 31. It would
be appreciated if you could renew early, as it would make it easier
to ensure all members are included in the annual directory.
Before you head north for the summer, before you head out on
your cruise, and before you forget .... get a check in the mail to
continue being a supporter of Sarasota Opera.
Single regular member $50; single patron member $75
Couple regular members $75; couple patron members $100.
Send checks, payable to Sarasota Opera Guild, to Sarasota Opera
Guild, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota FL 34236.
Your membership helps fund our wonderful Sarasota Opera and
enables talented children to participate in the Youth Opera,
regardless of ability to pay. Paying today saves us costly reminders
and enables us to complete the directory on time.
Our mailing address: [email protected]
Our Web site: http://www.sarasotaopera.org/sog.aspx
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Sarasota Opera Guild · 61 N. Pineapple Ave · Sarasota, FL 34236 · USA