Jenna Wolf is currently the Publicity and Digital Media Manager at Lenny’s Studio, a renowned female-founded public relations and digital firm, which collaborates with an acclaimed roster of artists and organizations. Previously, she worked in Development and External Relations for Minnesota Opera, and has consulted on fundraising and communications strategies with arts organizations throughout the United States. Jenna was an inaugural member of Arts Midwest’s Future Leaders Network, and has served on the board of the Tempo Young Professionals Organization. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, and a Master’s degree in Music from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, both in Horn Performance.
Dmitry Vdovin
Dmitry Vdovin, founder and artistic director of the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artist Program since 2009, is hailed as the world’s leading vocal coach. He was artistic director and teacher at the Moscow International School of Vocal Art which made it possible for leading opera teachers and specialists from Russia, USA, Italy, Germany and Great Britain to come to Moscow to work with the most talented young singers. He has also been resident guest teacher at the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Program (HGO Studio) and Opernhaus Zürich. He is regularly asked to serve as a jury member on international music competitions. Among his students are leading soloists in the greatest opera houses, such as the Bolshoi, La Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Berlin State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, amongst others.
Beth Stewart
Beth Stewart is the founder of Verismo Communications, a classical music PR firm that prizes authenticity over plasticity, creates space and opportunity in clients’ lives, and operates with unswerving integrity. With Verismo, she has propelled clients to features in top international publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, Opera, Opera News, Billboard, and Gramophone. She has played an integral role in major promotional campaigns, with clients such as mezzo Jamie Barton, soprano Corinne Winters, conductors Eun Sun Kim and Lidiya Yankovskaya, and Against the Grain Records earning recognition from the Solti Foundation US, International Opera Awards, Latin Grammy Awards, Juno Awards, and BBC Music Magazine Awards. Beth’s trademark drive and infectious energy have been instrumental in the launch of Turn The Spotlight, created to illuminate the path to a more equitable future in the arts.
Jennifer Spencer
Jennifer Spencer trained at the Royal College of Music, London, as a violinist and subsequently joined the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as a first violinist. She then moved into Artist Management – initially at Van Walsum then latterly as a Director of Harrison Parrott where, over the course of 20 years, she managed such names as Paavo Jarvi, Sakari Oramo, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Ivan Fischer, Andrey Boreyko, Krzysztof Urbanski and Xian Zhang. Jennifer left Harrison Parrott in June 2016 to work on her own projects. Currently, she is working alongside Ivan Fischer on the artistic and touring planning for the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and (in October 2017) she created a small conductor roster which she operates in conjunction with IMG Artists Ltd from London.
Stephanie Rhodes Russell
Stephanie Rhodes Russell, a renowned opera collaborator, is a Conducting Fellow with the Fort Worth Symphony and Associate Conductor for the Grand Teton Music Festival. She is a 2019 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award recipient and this season makes her European debut with Staatsoper Stuttgart. A former participant in The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors, Ms. Rhodes Russell is also a Fulbright award recipient and specializes in Russian repertoire and pronunciation at the Bolshoi Theatre. She has served on music staff at The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera, amongst others. She is also the founder of Women’s Artistic Leadership Initiative, a non-profit dedicated to educating young women in leadership skills and business acumen.
Paolo Petrocelli
Paolo Petrocelli serves as the Cultural and Music Diplomacy Officer for the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates. He has become a leading member of some of the most prestigious international organizations, including the United Nations, UNESCO, and the World Economic Forum. He is also the Co-Founder and President of the Youth Committee of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO. As a Music Diplomacy Ambassador, he serves in institutional roles to forge bonds through music in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the US. Mr. Petrocelli is the founder and President of EMMA for Peace (Euro-Mediterranean Music Academy for Peace). He is also a Board member and International advisor at Opera di Roma, Opera Lebanon, and Royal Opera House Muscat.