Post from July 2017 by Artistic Director, Todd Hunt
One question I get asked a lot is what is up with the name change from ‘Opera to Go’ to the ‘Orpheus Project’. Perhaps starting at the beginning is the best way to make it clear!
1996 – Joyce Parry Moore founded Opera to Go as an opera outreach project to take opera into the Juneau schools to cultivate interest in the art form. At this time OTG was associated with Juneau Lyric Opera. The first production was a set of opera scenes called Opéra à la carte.
In the meantime, Joyce wanted to do more with Opera to Go and also have full artistic control, so she began the process of creating a new 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation for OTG. In the meantime, she kept up an ever-growing schedule of events each season. The official non-profit status would not come for a few years, but that did not stop her from creating some ambitious productions, many of which toured around SE AK, as well as into Canada!
2006/2007 – Joyce’s last year as artistic director saw the most ambitious production to date – a retelling of Mozart’s Magic Flute set in the arctic. Joyce and Ryan Conarro re-imagined this musical tale, and after performances in Juneau, toured it to Anchorage, Nome, and Kotzebue! Just before this season began, the non-profit status was confirmed under the name Andiamo, which is still the non-profit name to this day.
2007/2008 – Todd’s first year as artistic director. We still toured as much as we could, but with rising costs of travel, increased workload on Juneau performers, and relative size of productions, touring became the exception rather than the rule. The “to Go” part of the name had lost some meaning.
2012/2013 – OTG resolved to expand its mission to include helping artistic groups in town produce concerts and shows. One of the first groups that we helped was Theatre at Latitude 58, a family-theater company with its large-scale production of Seussical. Work with other groups in town like Northern Lights Junior Theatre and Juneau Community Bands, and on events like Wharf Unplugged (a showcase for Juneau singer-songwriters), was taking us to a place where opera was definitely not the only thing we did. Now, having a name with “opera” in it was a bit misleading.
2014/2015 – after years of deliberating whether to change the name, and then what to change it to, the board of directors settled on Orpheus Project as the new name. It seemed to be perfect – Orpheus, the demigod whose skills as an instrumentalist and as a singer were unparalleled in myth or reality.
Our plan is for a smooth and gradual transition. For the time being our website is both operatogo.net and orpheusproject.org. operatogo.net will phase out after a while, but keeping many things the same will hopefully make the transition clearer. Also our logo is the same basic design as it has been since 2011. Many thanks to Tanna Peters for both the original logo and for making a new logo with the same look for us!
Thanks for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming productions!
Todd Hunt
One question I get asked a lot is what is up with the name change from ‘Opera to Go’ to the ‘Orpheus Project’. Perhaps starting at the beginning is the best way to make it clear!
1996 – Joyce Parry Moore founded Opera to Go as an opera outreach project to take opera into the Juneau schools to cultivate interest in the art form. At this time OTG was associated with Juneau Lyric Opera. The first production was a set of opera scenes called Opéra à la carte.
In the meantime, Joyce wanted to do more with Opera to Go and also have full artistic control, so she began the process of creating a new 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation for OTG. In the meantime, she kept up an ever-growing schedule of events each season. The official non-profit status would not come for a few years, but that did not stop her from creating some ambitious productions, many of which toured around SE AK, as well as into Canada!
2006/2007 – Joyce’s last year as artistic director saw the most ambitious production to date – a retelling of Mozart’s Magic Flute set in the arctic. Joyce and Ryan Conarro re-imagined this musical tale, and after performances in Juneau, toured it to Anchorage, Nome, and Kotzebue! Just before this season began, the non-profit status was confirmed under the name Andiamo, which is still the non-profit name to this day.
2007/2008 – Todd’s first year as artistic director. We still toured as much as we could, but with rising costs of travel, increased workload on Juneau performers, and relative size of productions, touring became the exception rather than the rule. The “to Go” part of the name had lost some meaning.
2012/2013 – OTG resolved to expand its mission to include helping artistic groups in town produce concerts and shows. One of the first groups that we helped was Theatre at Latitude 58, a family-theater company with its large-scale production of Seussical. Work with other groups in town like Northern Lights Junior Theatre and Juneau Community Bands, and on events like Wharf Unplugged (a showcase for Juneau singer-songwriters), was taking us to a place where opera was definitely not the only thing we did. Now, having a name with “opera” in it was a bit misleading.
2014/2015 – after years of deliberating whether to change the name, and then what to change it to, the board of directors settled on Orpheus Project as the new name. It seemed to be perfect – Orpheus, the demigod whose skills as an instrumentalist and as a singer were unparalleled in myth or reality.
Our plan is for a smooth and gradual transition. For the time being our website is both operatogo.net and orpheusproject.org. operatogo.net will phase out after a while, but keeping many things the same will hopefully make the transition clearer. Also our logo is the same basic design as it has been since 2011. Many thanks to Tanna Peters for both the original logo and for making a new logo with the same look for us!
Thanks for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming productions!
Todd Hunt
Production History
2023/2024
Byron Schenkman - Solo Piano Recital
2022/2023
Continuum - Looking at the Past from the Present
2022
The Wolf Who Came To Juneau - A Festival of Events Inspired by Romeo the Wolf
2021
No productions due to COVID-19
2020
Alcina - February 2020
2018/2019
Continuum - Meditative Counterpoint - October 2019
2017/2018
Amalga Chamber Orchestra, Southeast and Beyond - November 2017
2016/2017
West Side Story - February/March 2017
2015/2016
Saxophone Showcase - July 2015
2014/2015
Saxophone Showcase - July 2014
2013/2014
Mark Kratz Masterclass - September 2013
2012/2013
Bennu’s Birds workshop - October 2012
2011/2012
Rusalka – March 2012
2010 / 2011
L’elisir d’amore – November 2010
2009 / 2010
Christine Renée Keene recital – July 2009
2008 / 2009
Il Trittico – October 2008
2007 / 2008 - WTH’s first season
Dido and Æneas- March 2008
2006 / 2007 - Joyce’s last season
Arctic Magic Flute – February 2007
Inupiat Drumming workshop given by Martin Woods - 2007
2005 / 2006
Don Giovanni- March 2005
Design Workshop for visual artists taught by Arthur Rotch
Song Recital and Workshop with Stewart Emerson and Joyce Parry Moore
2004 / 2005
Don Pasquale
2003 / 2004
L’Enfant et les Sortileges –
2002 / 2003
Turn of the Screw – 2003
2001 / 2002
Madama Butterfly – 2002
1999 / 2000
Renaissance Recital
1997 / 1998
Hänsel and Gretel
1996 / 1997
Opéra à la carte
Byron Schenkman - Solo Piano Recital
- Byron plays music of Mozart, Schubert, Marie-Emannuelle Bayon, and more!
- Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church
- The Story of Romeo by Joel Bennett, illustrated by Lue Issac
- at the Juneau Public Market, November 24th to 26th --Centennial Hall
- Icefield Quartet with Jamila Hla Shwe. Choreography by Hali Duran
- Lighting Design by Mike Inwood and Projection Design by Greg Mitchell
- Music of John Cage, Philip Glass, Toru Takemitsu, Olivier Messiaen, JS Bach, and William Todd Hunt
- February 17 and 18 -- JDHS Auditorium
- Music of Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, Spencer Edgers, and Notre Dame School of Polyphony composers, including Pérotin
- Paul Shipper and Julia Bastuscheck, guest artists
- Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church
2022/2023
Continuum - Looking at the Past from the Present
- Premiere of Romeo the Wolf by Elena Levi and Joel Bennett. Narrated by Sheli DeLaney
- Other works by Kassia, Hildegard of Bingen, and Missy Mazzoli
- Works of Haydn, Stitt, Hunt, and Respighi
- Soloists: Sara Radke Brown and Fiona McFarlin
2022
The Wolf Who Came To Juneau - A Festival of Events Inspired by Romeo the Wolf
- Wolf Songs - Two newly commissioned cantatas by Emerson Eads/Dave Hunsaker and William Todd Hunt/Nick Jans
- Guests included Tess Altiveros, José Rubio, Vox Borealis, Genevieve Carson
- Photography Exhibit of Romeo at the JACC
- 20 large prints curated by Matthew S. Brown and Kerry Howard
- Romeo the Wolf - a musical tale for children by Elena Levi and Joel Bennett. Commissioned by Orpheus Project.
- Fireside Lecture by Nick Jans
- Hosted by the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor's Center
- Mendenhall Mall
2021
No productions due to COVID-19
2020
Alcina - February 2020
- JDHS - first opera written by a woman. Directed by Hali Duran.
- Guests include Christine Antenbring, Paul Shipper, Byron Schenkman, Adaiha MacAdam-Somer, and Dawn Lindsay.
2018/2019
Continuum - Meditative Counterpoint - October 2019
- NLUC with Amalga Chamber Orchestra
- Vox Borealis and Paul Shipper, guests.
- NLUC
- Aurora Quartet was Brian VanKirk, Todd Hunt, Reese Bleakley, Makenna Lovejoy
- Allen Marine trip to Vanderbilt Reef
- JDHS Premiere of Orpheus Commission
- Emerson Eads and Dave Hunsaker.
2017/2018
Amalga Chamber Orchestra, Southeast and Beyond - November 2017
- NLUC
- Princess Sophia preview scenes. Tess Altiveros, Kathleen Wayne, Wendy Byrnes, Mark Calvert, Jay Query, Zebadiah Bodine, Wade Rogers - soloists. Emerson Eads, composer and Dave Hunsaker, Librettist
- Hovhaness symphony 52 - possible world premiere
- Artemio Sandoval - Fortress of the Bear world premiere or orchestral version
- Allen Marine Catamaran trip to Vanderbilt reef
- Run through with orchestra at JDHS. not a public event
- Excerpts with 4-hand piano at the SLAM
- NLUC and Egan Library
2016/2017
West Side Story - February/March 2017
- Bernstein. At JDHS. Gilad Paz as Tony
- NLUC
- Special guest John Moore. Aurora Quartet - Todd Hunt, Brian VK, John Moore, and David Dumisnil
2015/2016
Saxophone Showcase - July 2015
- NLUC
- At Mountainside Wellness
- Claudio Monteverdi, 1607
- TMHS - Sumner Thompson, Baritone
- First large production with the name Orpheus Project. Coincidence?
2014/2015
Saxophone Showcase - July 2014
- NLUC
- Production of Northern Lights Junior Theater assisted by OTG
- Janacek opera performed in Czech
- First collaboration with JDT
- Name change to Orpheus Project announced at this production
2013/2014
Mark Kratz Masterclass - September 2013
- Tenor from California. held at Holy Trinity Church
- Held at NLUC
- Premiere of commissioned Concerto for electric cello and orchestra by Tyree Pini. Karl Knapp, soloist
- Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. Lisa Ibias, soloist
- Méhul symphony number 2, Respighi Ancient Airs and Dances
- Rebecca Grimes, Music Director (Board member)
- Rory Stitt. our first full commission. performed at JDHS
- Singer/songwriter event at the Hangar Ballroom
2012/2013
Bennu’s Birds workshop - October 2012
- Workshop of our first children’s opera commission. By Rory Stitt
- Premiere of aria from Bennu’s Birds, Kathleen Wayne soloist
- Griffes Poem for flute and orchestra, Sally Schlichting, soloist
- Also Schubert Unfinished Symphony and Mozart 38.
- Held at UAS
- Alaska Territorial Hall (old Elk’s lodge, which is now the former upstairs at Rockwell)
- NLUC
- Aurora Sax quartet - Greg Frank, Hope Aldreghette, Keila DuBois, Eric Hedstrom
2011/2012
Rusalka – March 2012
- Dvorak’s most performed masterpiece, sung in English at TMHS.
- Nancy Caudill is a singer and master teacher from Anchorage. Held at UAS.
- Showcase for local singers. Hangar on the Wharf Ballroom.
2010 / 2011
L’elisir d’amore – November 2010
- Sung in Italian, JDHS.
- Linda Rosenthal, soloist. Rory Stitt world premiere. TMHS
2009 / 2010
Christine Renée Keene recital – July 2009
- Jay Query, guest singer. Chapel by the Lake
- World premiere, TMHS
- World premiere, TMHS
- JLO production, tour by OTG. Sung in Italian. Sitka Performing Arts Center.
2008 / 2009
Il Trittico – October 2008
- All three Puccini operas performed in Italian. JDHS
- Held at UAS
- Daughters of the new moon, Dale Wygant Polka band, Locher and Norlund, Local singers, etc. JACC
- Hanger on the Wharf Ballroom. Local singers in concert.
2007 / 2008 - WTH’s first season
Dido and Æneas- March 2008
- JDHS. In two acts – first as written, second truncated with accompanying video presentation.
- Held at UAS
- Aldersgate Church. Local singers in concert.
2006 / 2007 - Joyce’s last season
Arctic Magic Flute – February 2007
- Adaptation by Ryan Conarro. Toured to Anchorage (Native Heritage Center), Nome, and Kotzebue. Performed in Juneau at Centennial Hall.
- Joyce Parry Moore and Beth Bradford. Proceeds to benefit cancer research. Northern Light United Church.
Inupiat Drumming workshop given by Martin Woods - 2007
- St. Ann’s Hall (Cathedral of the Nativity of the BVM)
- St. Ann’s Hall (Cathedral of the Nativity of the BVM) Sponsored by the Pilipino community.
- Scottish Rite Temple. Choreographed arias and ensembles.
2005 / 2006
Don Giovanni- March 2005
- JDHS. Sung in English with interpolated Spanish.
Design Workshop for visual artists taught by Arthur Rotch
Song Recital and Workshop with Stewart Emerson and Joyce Parry Moore
2004 / 2005
Don Pasquale
- Sung in English with interpolated Italian. Performed in [the old] McPhetres Hall
- Traveled to Haines and Haines Junction
- Arias and ensembles of Mozart, sewn together with dialogue for the character WA Mozart by Joyce Parry Moore
- Performed in [the old] McPhetres Hall
2003 / 2004
L’Enfant et les Sortileges –
- Cooperation with Juneau Symphony. JDHS. Sung in English with interpolated French.
- Toured to Haines and Haines Junction
2002 / 2003
Turn of the Screw – 2003
- Old Elk’s Lodge upstairs.
- House of Wickersham
2001 / 2002
Madama Butterfly – 2002
- Sung in English. Northern Light United Church
- Toured to Haines
1999 / 2000
Renaissance Recital
- Joyce Parry Moore
1997 / 1998
Hänsel and Gretel
1996 / 1997
Opéra à la carte