Palm Beach Opera announces the appointment of David Walker to the position of Director of Institutional Advancement. Walker, who was most recently the Director of Development at North Carolina Opera (Raleigh, NC), will join Palm Beach Opera in August.

“It is a tremendous honor to have the opportunity to work with Palm Beach Opera, a company I have long admired and respected,” said David Walker. “It will be an enormous pleasure to work with such a talented and caring group of people, in such an engaged community of long-time patrons and supporters. I feel fortunate that I will be a part of the company’s efforts to continue strengthening its sustainability and growth, enhancing its already extremely high level of artistic quality and programming, broadening its diverse and robust educational and outreach efforts, and attracting new audiences into its opera family.”

“I’m thrilled that David Walker is joining the Palm Beach Opera team,” said Palm Beach Opera General Director Daniel Biaggi. “David personifies the modern opera manager who understands institutional advancement and fundraising as part of overall patron engagement. His expertise and personable demeanor will greatly enhance Palm Beach Opera’s ability to reach our strategic goals and significantly increase support for our programs.”

Walker has experience managing successful fundraising campaigns for arts organizations around the country including the Glimmerglass Festival (Cooperstown, NY), Sarasota Opera, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Worth Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has been a guest lecturer on the business of opera at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, University of North Carolina, Duke University, and was invited to serve as a guest speaker at the 2012 Opera America Conference, the annual conference of administrative professionals from opera companies nationwide.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Engineering from Lafayette College, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance with a certificate in Opera Performance from Florida State University, and a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and a Master of Business Administration (Beta Gamma Sigma distinction) with an Arts Administration focus from the College-Conservatory of Music and University of Cincinnati, respectively.

Prior to his arts administration career, Walker worked as a professional classical singer and performed at some of the most prestigious opera houses in the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, and the English National Opera in London.

Palm Beach Opera is dedicated to producing live opera at an international standard of excellence and to enriching the life of the communities it serves with a diverse offering of educational programs. Founded in 1961, the fully professional Palm Beach Opera presents main stage performances at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach and is a proud member of OPERA America and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

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