After a brief flirtation with opera during my undergraduate and graduate studies in music and theatre, I spent the next 15 years directing and musically directing theatre. In 2017, my previous dalliances with opera became a passion when I was approached by Opera Memphis to direct a production of Blue Viola, by Hillard/Boresi. This experience made a profound impact, and I am eager to experience and explore old and new works of opera. Personally, I am very passionate about projects that provide a realistic perspective of social issues that negatively affect marginalized groups of people with the hope of inciting positive change in our world. I am thrilled to begin my work with Opera Memphis as the first Fellow of the McCleave Project.