Interview: Newly Appointed Director of HGOco Carleen Graham Talks Her Plans for the Future
By: Katricia Lang Jul. 15, 2016
Carleen Graham, above, the new Director of its
its community outreach program, HGOco.
Photo courtesy of the Houston Grand Opera
On August 22, award-winning opera educator, administrator, researcher and stage director Carleen Graham assumes the position of Director of HGOco, the Houston Grand Opera's community outreach program.
Right off the bat, Graham faces two major challenges. The first is opera's image as an ivory tower, an exclusionary and out of time performing art. The second is filling the shoes of Sandra Bernhard, a beloved fixture in the Houston arts community gone too soon. But, to her credit, Graham exudes energy and optimism throughout her conversation with BroadwayWorld.
She leans into her predecessor's accomplishments and cites the existence of productions like 2005's MARGARET GARNER (with a libretto by Toni Morrison), 2010's CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA, 2015's EL PASADO NUNCA SE TERMINA, and 2016 operas SHALIMAR THE CLOWN and Charlie Parker'S YARDBIRD as evidence that the artform continues to move, even if slowly, in the right direction. You can read more about Graham's future plans for HGOco below.
What is it like for you succeeding Sandra Bernhard, such a beloved predecessor?
Carleen Graham: Daunting! Sandra Bernhard left a formidable legacy as the founding director of HGOco. I hope to honor her memory by building on the important relationships she cultivated with the community.
I look forward to collaborating with the arts community, public school educators and, especially, with the people of Houston so that HGOco can continue to be a leader in performing arts community engagement.
What are your goals for the future? And what are your current plans for reaching them?
Carleen Graham: First of all, I am beyond thrilled to begin working with one of the most important opera companies in the world! It is a dream come true. I am eager to meet Houstonians and to learn more about Houston's diverse communities. I am excited to work with the HGOco staff in building community engagement programming. I want to continue to develop robust partnerships with organizations that continually expand our connections within Houston. And, above all, continue to develop new works, reflective of the Houston experience, that are of the highest artistic quality. I am most eager to get started!
How do you think your background will help you slip into this new role?
Carleen Graham: I have a great deal of experience dealing with public school education programming, developing new works, and engaging with diversity and inclusion and other contemporary issues on a university campus.
In 2000 at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York, I began an opera education program that engages with public school children in the region. In this program cast members and interns create programming for students that allows them to see a live performance, work closely in workshops with college students after the performance, and have more of a campus experience. We did it with operas and musicals like THE MAGIC FLUTE, A WRINKLE IN TIME, MIKADO, L'ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES, L'INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA, RAGTIME, AMAHL & THE NIGHT VISITORS, and with new works with very progressive themes.
In 2012, I led an initiative to develop the college's Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize, which encourages the creation of new opera works that explore themes related to tolerance, inclusion or the celebration of diversity. I wanted our students to have opportunities to experience how a new work is developed and, at the same time, support the creation of works that are reflective of 21st century themes. We developed the prize in a way that would make it unique among other prizes - reflective of our campus' mission regarding inclusion and diversity, as well as reflect the donor's wishes to honor his partner and their relationship of 35 years. The first prize was given in 2014 and included A LETTER TO EAST 11TH STREET (libretto by Mark Campbell, music by Martin Hennessy), and one act each of two other works, THE FOX & THE POMEGRANATE (music by Matt Frey, libretto by Daniel Kushner) and IN A MIRROR, DARKLY (music by Christopher Weiss, libretto by S. O'Duinn Magee).
More recently, I collaborated with our regional performing arts presenter, Community Performance Series and TAUNY (Traditional Arts of Upstate New York) on a production of the folk musical QUILTERS that also included an exhibit of regional quilts dating back to the mid-19th century. Local artisans were engaged to create the legacy quilt used in the production and we toured the show around the North Country region. At one performance in a predominantly Mennonite community, Audience members responded spontaneously throughout the performance and even gave the legacy quilt a standing ovation! It was moving to meet quilters of all ages, many who had family or community connections to the quilts in the exhibit. It was a deeply moving experience about the power of connection through community collaboration.
All of these experiences (community and educational engagement, and the development of new works) give me a solid foundation from which to move forward with HGOco.
Broadway World: How do you think opera companies as a whole can make opera fun and approachable to communities that are usually considered a footnote when it comes to programming e.g. the working class, youth, people of color?
Carleen Graham: The many new operas that have been developed and produced in America over the last 15 years include culturally diverse and contemporary stories reflective of life in the 21st century. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think sharing these stories is what can best connect us with our community.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Established in 2007, HGOco, HGO's community collaboration and education initiative, creates opportunities for Houstonians of all ages and backgrounds to observe, participate in, and create art, endeavoring to make opera relevant to its changing audiences by connecting the company with the diverse and changing Houston community through creative collaboration. For more information on HGOco or the Houston Grand Opera, visit HGO.org.
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