The Clayco Foundation continues to reinforce the Art and Science of Building through our support of the Opera Theatre of St. Louis Fellowship program and its third class of Future Leaders!
Congratulations to Linda Holyoke (advancement fellow), Jhané Perdue (artistic fellow), and Jenna Pieper (administrative fellow) for being named the 2022 to 2023 recipients. Pieper and Holyoke are also the first Fellows to join the program from my hometown of St. Louis.
These leaders are a perfect example of the values and goals this program reflects. Holyoke is a former sustainability engineer, Perdue currently serves as the artistic project coordinator with the Pleiades Project, and Pieper is a classical percussionist and arts administrator.
This transformational program launched in 2020 and continues to focus on diversity and inclusion by supporting Fellows in arts administration from underrepresented backgrounds. Those selected will gain valuable skills and connections to the arts community through mentorship, professional experience, fundraising, marketing, audience cultivation, and business administration. Most importantly, it gives these innovators a head start in building their careers.
The OTSL is known for its local impact, national presence, and global resonance, along with its spring festival season accompanied by the Grammy Award-winning St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Its mission is to help shape a vibrant future for opera by inspiring communities through its art and empowering the next generation of diverse artists at the highest level.
What I admire about this program is that it combines many of my passions — professional development, diversity and inclusion, mentorship, and the arts. Through OTSL, we are helping to create a diverse workforce that is imperative to success by increasing the number of BIPOC leaders in the arts.
If you are in the St. Louis area on December 11th, join OTSL for its annual Holiday Celebration at the Saint Louis Club. The event celebrates winter and the year ahead with cocktails, caroling, dinner, and a performance by soprano Murrella Parton singing Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. All proceeds benefit the organization's young artist programs, which bring aspiring talent to perform during the festival season and throughout the year.
I look forward to seeing how these future leaders positively impact our world!
