AOP seeks a General Director who will work in partnership with the Board to chart the future for the organization as it approaches its 35th anniversary. The General Director, together with the Board and staff will work to shape a dynamic, engaging, and relevant future for the organization. AOP is a vibrant home for talented creators, singers, conductors, musicians, stage directors, designers, visual artists, choreographers, and dancers in the US. The General Director is the chief executive of the organization and reports to AOP’s Board of Directors.

AOP assumes that the new General Director may be engaged in other professional activities or employment and that that activity or employment would be complementary to the AOP position, not interfering with the duties of a General Director.

 

Compensation range: $65-$70K.

NOTE FROM CO-CHAIRS OF AOP BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Thank you for considering the position of General Director at AOP. To help you in your decision-making process, we wanted to share some additional information with you about why we value AOP. Throughout its history AOP has been at the forefront of innovation in the operatic field. We have done this by actively supporting a myriad of composers and librettists through all stages of development either with our company or through a vast network of partnerships and collaborators across the country. We are proud that groundbreaking ideas that had their beginnings at AOP are now considered the industry standard. We currently have an exceptionally talented staff of creative individuals who work well together and are responsive to interesting and innovative ideas. The Board and staff are united in their belief that there are continued frontiers to explore in this unique art form. The Board looks forward to co-authoring a new vision for AOP’s future with the next General Director.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• In partnership with Board leadership and staff, establish goals and priorities, artistic and financial, set objectives, and monitor progress;
• Provide leadership in developing programs, organizational, and financial plans in coordination with the Board and staff; and execute plans and policies authorized by the Board;
• Spearhead fundraising, communications, marketing, and community outreach planning and implementation;
• Serve as an advocate and spokesperson for the AOP;
• Work with the Development Director to manage relationships with key constituents including individuals, corporations, foundations, and other stakeholders, securing contributions from all sources in support of the operations and activities of AOP;
• Build AOP’s relevance to the community through increasing the depth and breadth of the AOP audience and stakeholders;
• Promote active and broad participation by volunteers in all areas of AOP’s work;
• Propose and monitor annual budgets; work with bookkeeper, accountants and Board Finance Committee to produce all monthly/annual financial reports and tax filings

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• A commitment to the mission of AOP and to the creation and production of new opera;
• Proven partnership ability with diverse stakeholders including artists, staff members, board members, donors, funders and producing and programming partners;
• A history of cultivating and maintaining long-term relationships with donors and funders and of successfully securing grants and major gifts;
• The ability to shape and communicate a vision for AOP;
• Experience engaging and activating boards and managing staff teams;
• Fluency in current and emerging fundraising and producing best practices;

MISSION

AOP's mission is to develop and present new and innovative works of lyric theater, provide a creative home to emerging and established artists, and engage contemporary communities in a transformative operatic experience.

 

EDI STATEMENT

The vision of The American Opera Project (AOP) begins with storytelling. We reaffirm our commitment to providing–and celebrating–an environment of mutual respect, in which all people can feel free to tell and live their stories. To us, the American part of our name acknowledges the full diversity represented in the United States, now and throughout the history of our country. These heritages, and their stories, influence American culture in important and meaningful ways. AOP believes that fostering a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion among our staff, board, artists and collaborators is critical for our success as an organization, and for the advancement of opera as an art form that represents us all.

 

HISTORY

Founded in 1988 by Grethe Barret Holby in a loft apartment in SoHo, AOP began as a salon for friends to share new music (Jonathan Larson even appeared once to test out music from a certain show he was writing based on La bohème). As Artistic Director from 1988-2001, Holby grew AOP into a non-profit arts company, producing workshops and small-scale chamber operas across New York City. Charles Jarden became General Director in 1998 and brought American Opera Projects into its second phase. Jarden moved AOP’s headquarters to Fort Greene, Brooklyn, expanded its community performances, and along with Artistic Director Steven Osgood (2002-2008), instituted training programs for emerging composers, and formed partnerships across the nation to premiere the operas it continued to develop.

In 2019, Matt Gray became General Director with Mila Henry as Artistic Director and the name of the company was changed to The American Opera Project. Still known as AOP, the organization continued a proud legacy of being at the forefront of the contemporary opera movement for over thirty years through the commissioning, developing, and producing of opera and lyric theater projects, training programs for student and emerging composers and librettists, and community engagement. AOP is recognized for its cross-genre experimentation in works such as the dance chamber opera Hagoromo starring Wendy Whelan (BAM, 2015) and the interdisciplinary work Darkling (East 13th Street Theatre, 2006), which combines poetry, music and projection; stories of African-American history including The Summer King (Pittsburgh Opera, 2017) and Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom (Irondale, 2014); and numerous groundbreaking works on LGBTQ themes like Paul’s Case (UrbanArias, 2015) based on the short story by Willa Cather, Patience & Sarah (Lincoln Center Festival, 1998), the first opera about a lesbian relationship, and the chamber opera As One (BAM, 2014), the first opera about a transgender person. Since 1988, AOP has premiered 50+ complete opera works.

AOP further expands the operatic field through its training programs The NYU Opera Lab, in partnership with NYU and for students and alumni in The NYU/Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, and Composers & the Voice, AOP’s in-house, two-year fellowship program for emerging composers and librettists.

AOP is a member of OPERA America, Fort Greene Association, the Downtown Brooklyn Arts Alliance, the New York Opera Alliance, and Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./ NY). American Opera Projects is an IRS recognized 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

AOP'S COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ANTI-RACISM

AOP believes that diversity is critical to its success and growth as a performing arts institution and it seeks to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a wide candidate pool. AOP seeks a workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities it serves. AOP is committed to combatting racism, increasing diversity among its ranks, and being a more racially equitable institution. It understands the need to take concrete steps and is taking them. AOP acknowledges there is much work to be done within the organization and in the overall world of opera and classical music to fully accomplish these goals. AOP is firmly committed to identifying and addressing systemic and structural inequities across all areas of its company, including but not limited to senior management and staff, creative teams, backstage and front of house personnel, artists, and guest performers and musicians.

APPLYING

AOP will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. A bachelor's degree (or an equivalent combination of education and experience) and at least ten years of experience in a senior leadership role, including fundraising and the oversight of high performing teams, is preferred.

All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and resume. Cover letters should be responsive to AOP’s mission as well as the responsibilities and qualifications stated in the position prospectus.

Preference will be given to applications received by August 31, 2023.

All applications will be acknowledged and personally reviewed upon receipt.