From TOLEDO OPERA
The Toledo Opera today (1-4-24) announced leadership changes. Toledo Opera Executive Director Suzanne Rorick will retire upon the end of the 2023-24 fiscal year, on May 31, 2023. Co-Artistic Directors James M. Norman and Kevin Bylsma will succeed her as General Director and Artistic Director respectively.
Their selection follows a Toledo Opera Board-led interview process.
“As a board, we are incredibly pleased to find the future leadership of Toledo Opera within the organization,” shared Toledo Opera Board President Barbara Oostra. “Both of them have been vital members of Toledo Opera, as well as the Toledo community, for many years and we are excited for the continued success of our organization.”
For Rorick, Norman and Bylsma are uniquely qualified to take the reins: “In my years at Toledo Opera, I have learned that managing a nonprofit is not a straight line. You take information from the community and those around you to create a straight line out of the circumstances at hand. How lucky we are at Toledo Opera to have two gentlemen on our team who are willing and more than able to take on the job. The timing is right and they are right for the job,” Rorick said .
Kevin Blysma
Bylsma, a member of the BGSU College of Musical Arts faculty, will serve as the Artistic Director. Norman will serve as the General Director.
Kevin Bylsma began his relationship with Toledo Opera upon his departure from Detroit Opera (formerly Michigan Opera Theatre) in May of 1997. He was appointed as the Head of Music Preparation and Musical Assistant to Maestro James Meena.
Bylsma soon moved to the Toledo community and served in his role for seven seasons. In 2011, he returned to Toledo Opera at the request of Executive Director Suzanne Rorick. Bylsma’s role at Toledo Opera has grown in the 12 years that he has been with the company. Most recently, he has been the principal rehearsal pianist for all mainstage operas, chorus master, Co-Artistic Director, and Head of Music Preparation.
In collaboration with Suzanne Rorick and James Norman, he has aided in selecting and casting all of the operatic offerings of Toledo Opera since the fall of 2019. Bylsma has served at Bowling Green State University as an Associate Teaching Professor of Opera since 2006 and acts as a liaison between Bowling Green State University and Toledo Opera – who have enjoyed a longstanding partnership.
“I am honored and thrilled to be named Artistic Director of Toledo Opera,” shared Kevin Bylsma. “Not only is it my goal to maintain the high artistic level that is the hallmark of Toledo Opera productions, but also to introduce even more Toledoans to the passion and joy that is opera!”
James Norman
Native Toledoan James M. Norman began his relationship with Toledo Opera in 1981 as a freshman at the University of Toledo, singing in the chorus of Aida. He sang with the company for two seasons, returning to the chorus in 1987 at the request of Maestro James Meena. He performed in both chorus and comprimari roles until 2000.
In 2011, he was once again called upon by Meena to serve as a stage manager for Turandot. Following the conclusion of that production, Executive Director Suzanne Rorick brought Norman onto the staff to serve as Production Manager on a part time basis. His role shifted to full time in June of 2016, when he was appointed Director of Production.
In the fall of 2019, Norman was named as Co-Artistic Director (in addition to Director of Production) upon the departure of James Meena. Norman has enjoyed a long career in the Northwest Ohio arts community as a director, costumer, stage manager, educator, and performer.
“I am truly humbled to have been entrusted with the future of Toledo Opera,” shared James M. Norman. “My primary goal is to align with the vision of our esteemed board to build upon the remarkable achievements of my predecessors as we embark on an exciting phase of increasing our influence and relevance within the Toledo community.”
Suzanne Rorick
For Rorick, her work at Toledo Opera has been a long labor of love, inspired by the importance of classical music and her love for the community. “After nearly thirty years of working in the non-profit culture sector, and leading Toledo Opera for over a decade, I still believe that the arts have a role to play. Opera takes us on a journey outside of ourselves. By bringing us together, and inviting us to immerse ourselves in its powerful storytelling together, opera can expand our collective imagination in ways that endure long after we leave the theater. I am so grateful to the people of Toledo Opera and the greater Toledo community for being a part of the common project of building a thriving, equitable, and inclusive company,” shared Rorick.
“Toledo Opera has been blessed with Suzanne’s leadership for over a decade,” shared Toledo Opera Board President Barbara Oostra. “Her vision, creativity, and passion have allowed Toledo Opera to prosper during her tenure. We thank her for our success and wish her all the best in her retirement.”
Rorick has been working in the nonprofit sector in Toledo for over 25 years, first joining the staff of Toledo Opera in 2001 as the Director of Development – a role she served in for a decade. Rorick was named Executive Director in 2011, making her the fifth chief executive in the company’s 65-year history. She has now served in this position for twelve years.
Maintaining a high-quality professional opera company that is financially stable is a challenge for opera directors in cities both large and small. Operating one a $1.5 million budget with a small staff is a high-wire act that Rorick has excelled at over the last twelve years. Starting with a financial and board crisis in 2011, followed by quick stabilization and then a grand comeback that continues today, Rorick has been an unfailing strategic and fearless leader.
During her tenure, Toledo Opera has operated under a set of principles known as “Sound Vision.” With “Sound Vision,” Rorick has established a culture where it is the norm to achieve the highest artistic standards while maintaining sound fiscal management. Toledo Opera now enjoys tremendous success, with sold-out houses, productions of the highest quality, exceptional education programs, and a growing community of subscribers and donors. Under Rorick’s stewardship, Toledo Opera has come to embody her vision of an opera company that cultivates artistic talent at a number of levels. With Rorick as its Executive Director, Toledo Opera is a regional company that has a deeper programmatic vision: integrating the meaning and power of opera into the community and nourishing the artform itself through its artists.
Rorick is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University. She completed a Certificate in Fund Raising Management form the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University in 2010 and maintains the industry certification in fundraising, CFRE credential. In November 2015 Suzanne was named Professional Fundraiser of the Year by the Northwest Ohio Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) of which she is a member. In 2021 she was honored for her outstanding contributions in the Arts with a YWCA Milestone Award.
