Dallas Opera Chair Recognized Nationally for Leadership
OPERA America, a national service organization for American opera companies and artists, named Dallas Opera Board Chairman Holly Mayer its national opera trustee recognition award winner. She will be honored during a March dinner and reception in New York.
Mayer has served on the Dallas Opera’s board of directors for 27 years. Before assuming the role of chairman in 2014, she spent 13 years as vice president of development. Along with her husband, Tom, and daughter, Maile Shea, Mayer personally contributed significant underwriting support for last season’s world premiere of Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus. She also worked to secure additional funding in order to simulcast a performance of the opera to four Texas Children’s Hospitals.
“Perhaps most impressive is Holly’s willingness to take on leadership roles during challenging times, evidence of her blend of optimism and tenacity,” board member John T. Cody Jr. said. “She is well known for her ability to listen and to offer valuable insight, and can be counted on to apply the highest professional standards to all she endeavors.”
Mayer won the budget I award for operas with an annual budget of $15 million or more. Winners in other categories were Carol Lazier of the San Diego Opera (budget $3-$14.9 million), R. Marsh Gibson of Opera Memphis ($1-$2.9 million), and Jerry Clack from Opera Theater of Pittsburgh (under $1 million).
