Rising Stars in...Education

Emmalee Iden
Director of Community Engagement, Atlanta Opera

When Emmalee Iden joined the Atlanta Opera as a grant writer in 2007, the company had no full-time staff devoted to community engagement or education, having gone through a series of cut backs. A three-year foundation grant changed that in 2008, and gave Iden her current job. “There was no place to go but up,” she laughs. Her department has a broad remit, covering audience development, music education, and community engagement.

Trained as a bassoonist, Iden moved into music education early in her college career, worked as a middle-school band director, and earned a MS in arts administration from Shenandoah University. She has put some unusual ideas into practice in Atlanta. One is the “24-Hour-Opera,” a “reality show” in which teams of composers and librettists write fun seven- to ten-minute operas on a set theme (in 2012, it was An Accidental Affair) that are then learned and performed on the spot, all in 24 hours, and a winner is chosen. Some 250 people attended the final performance of the five operas last spring; another 1,500 watched the process online during and after the event.

A little off the wall, perhaps, but the idea, says Iden, was to look at the creative process in a highly concentrated time period, which was beneficial for both the artists and the audience. It has brought the company national visibility, as well as attention from audience members who might not have attended a mainstage performance.

Iden also launched a high school opera institute for aspiring young singers (inspired by the band clinics), and spearheaded the company’s first commission, an opera for children. Her biggest challenges? “Money and time. There are so many fantastic ideas floating around in the office, and in my head. But I have to be as efficient as possible with financial and human capital, and prioritize, choosing what will have the most impact.” And she acquired some essential skills as a band director. “It’s all about organization: if you can’t organize, communicate, and multitask, it doesn’t work.”

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Heidi Waleson is the opera critic for The Wall Street Journal and writes about the performing arts for a variety of national and international publications.