Kim Pensinger Witman

As the Wolf Trap Foundation’s Senior Director of Opera & Classical Programming, Kim Pensinger Witman has the privilege of running a small but prestigious opera company that is also a young artist development program. She started her career as a freelance pianist, adjunct university instructor, assistant conductor, registered music therapist, and music administrator. Since 1997, she has run Wolf Trap Opera and overseen the division of the Wolf Trap Foundation that presents orchestral and chamber music concerts. Kim has produced over 60 operas, ranging from undiscovered baroque gems to world premieres. Under her direction, the WTO earned a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording, for a live performance of Musto’s Volpone. For over 20 years, she has traveled the country, identifying the brightest talent for Wolf Trap Opera, hearing over 10,000 audi tions in the process. She is a frequent adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has served as a panelist with OPERA America, the National Opera Association, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Arts Triage

Arts Triage

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A career in arts admin presupposes a strong work ethic and an insatiable appetite for challenge. There’s always more to be done than hours in which to do it. That’s when 21st-century productivity apps take a back seat to this 200-year-old strategy from the Napoleonic Wars. I’m sure many of you are familiar with triage: sorting the work that lies before you based on how much your effort will reap. It involves zeroing in on the problems and opportunities that will benefit the most from engagement. It was originally a battlefield strategy … Read more

ArtsHacker

The Musician’s Guide to Public Speaking

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Many of us arts admin types were performing artists in a former life. So when we get called upon to speak to patrons/donors/staff/colleagues/board members, we welcome the opportunity to be in front of people, right? Uh, right… If you find yourself a reluctant spokesperson for your company or brand, I encourage you to use your musician chops to shape and polish your public speaking skills. Embrace the Silence Was it Debussy who reminded us that music is the “silence between the notes?” We all know how to honor rests in our music-making. … Read more

All About That (Data)base

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I have a lousy memory but a fabulous database system. Wolf Trap Opera gets frequent inquiries about the tools and processes we use to track the thousands of singers who audition for our company. The answer? A robust Filemaker Pro database. I’ve suffered unhappily through forced usage of Access, Quark and other clunky database programs. Unlike these cousins, Filemaker is customizable, elegant and versatile. Its capabilities far outreach what most of us need, but it is increasingly easy to use on an entry level, and it can grow with you. The street price … Read more