Young Friends Advisory Committee

Meet the Committee:

Sarah Alderfer

What was your first Opera Philadelphia performance?
I think my first Opera Philadelphia performance was Ainadamar (2014).

Where do you work?
I am a Trust Officer at Bessemer Trust Company of Delaware. I help high net worth clients with wealth planning.

What has been your most memorable experience with Opera Philadelphia so far?
There have been so many memorable experiences with Opera Philadelphia! If I have to pick just one, I’d choose watching Turandot at Opera on the Mall (2016) when the cast attended and watched the performance with us.

How does being a part of the Young Friends Advisory Committee enhance your appreciation for opera?
I love being able to be part of a community of opera lovers! It’s great to get to know other people who share an interest in such a unique art form while supporting a company that always tries to do new things.

Maria Kiamesso DaSilva

What was your first Opera Philadelphia performance?
Cyrano (2008)

Where do you work?
I am currently a first year MBA at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, but I am rooted in the performing arts. I hope to bring business insights from the MBA experience to the classical music industry, in which I have worked thus far.

What has been your most memorable experience with Opera Philadelphia so far?
I am lucky to have spent my whole life attending performances and admiring Opera Philadelphia's unforgettable, so there are many! One that jumps immediately to mind is seeing Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2019-- stills from those sets and costumes were my computer and phone backgrounds for years.

How does being a part of the Young Friends Advisory Committee enhance your appreciation for opera?
As a young person, attending operatic performances with others my age electrifies the performance experience. Knowing that there will be familiar faces and friends with whom I can form strong bonds over this shared passion encourages me to fully engage with the art. I love to debrief with the other VIVACE members during intermission and after a show. They're an intellectually stimulating crowd!

Brian Hylton

What was your first Opera Philadelphia performance?
Carmen (2011)

Where do you work?
I am a Supplier Development Manager at Reworld. I lead projects involving international suppliers.

What has been your most memorable experience with Opera Philadelphia so far?
Glass Handel (2018) at the Barnes Foundation. I remember leaving that performance and thinking to myself “I will never see something like that ever again.”

How does being a part of the Young Friends Advisory Committee enhance your appreciation for opera?
Being a part of the committee has meant that I interact with many of the new opera goers. I love hearing what brings them to the opera: whether it be their love for modern work, the orchestra, the voices, or the costumes. It reminds me of everything that goes into making great opera.

Clint Walker

What was your first Opera Philadelphia performance?
The Magic Flute (2013). Not my first opera, but the first one that I loved! It made me want to subscribe.

Where do you work?
After my experience with Opera Philadelphia and VIVACE, I decided to transition to work in opera in fundraising. I now am the Director of Development and Membership for OPERA America, the national service organization for the art form.

What has been your most memorable experience with Opera Philadelphia so far?
Gosh that's hard. Festival O provided so many. I think I'd have to say Glass Handel. An Anthony Roth Costanzo concert at the Barnes Foundation featuring live painting by George Condo, music videos, dancers, costumes by Raf Simons, and people moving the audience around on wheels. What a wild and exciting night!

How does being a part of the Young Friends Advisory Committee enhance your appreciation for opera?
The best thing about the committee is the friends I have made through it. We come from all sorts of career paths and backgrounds, but we're united by a love of opera and celebration. I learn so much about the art form through these super fans, but we also just click on a friendship level.

Kelly Zhou

What was your first Opera Philadelphia performance?
The Barber of Seville at Opera on the Mall (2014), followed by my first in-person opera at Tancredi (2017). I was so blown away by Stephanie Blythe that I went to see Tancredi a second time during its run!

Where do you work?
I'm an investment analyst (covering U.S. equities) and am a principal at Blackstone

What has been your most memorable experience with Opera Philadelphia so far?
During the run of Written on Skin in 2018, I had a chance to meet our now-General Director at the VIVACE afterparty. As with any event involving Anthony, it was a blast! Fast forward several months, and I was dining at a communal table in Charleston during the Spoleto Music Festival. It turned out that we had all been to the chamber music performance earlier that afternoon featuring none other than Mr. Costanzo - including a particularly memorable rendition of "Fever." Our entire table couldn’t stop raving about the performance! It was just moments later that Anthony himself entered the restaurant. We had a moment of recognition and Anthony actually remembered me from the afterparty! To this day, I’ve never seen such envy from an entire table of opera lovers - and I owe it all to Opera Philadelphia and VIVACE!

How does being a part of the Young Friends Advisory Committee enhance your appreciation for opera?
To me, one of the greatest joys of being an opera lover is having the opportunity to introduce others to an art form that has transformed my life. It was only in 2017 that I first got a taste of live opera, and it quickly became such a passion of mine that I would soon fly across continents to see some of my favorite performers. I love the idea that I might be able to help others find as much joy as I have. Through VIVACE, I can both welcome newcomers as well as spend hours discussing our favorite performances and singers with fellow opera lovers that have become close friends.