Artistic Team
Martile Rowland was catapulted into the international opera scene with her unexpected debut (6 hours notice!) as Queen Elizabeth in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux with Opera Orchestra of New York in Carnegie Hall.During the years that followed, Martile sang leading roles in the world’s most prestigious opera houses to rave reviews including returns to the Metropolitan Opera (to sing Lucia di Lammermoor with Spanish tenor Alfredo Krauss), New York City Opera, Opera de Nice, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City for four seasons, Rio de Janeiro’s National Theatre, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Paris’ Bastille, Frankfurt Opera, Stuttgart Opera, Guadalajara, the famous Ludwigsburger Festival for 4 seasons, Basil Opera in Switzerland, and numerous seasons in leading European houses.
She starred on American stages to include 7 seasons at Atlanta Opera, San Diego Opera, Baltimore Opera, Minnesota Opera, Detroit Opera, Miami Opera, Dayton Opera, Washington Concert Opera, and seven seasons with her home company, the Colorado Opera Festival. She also returned to Carnegie Hall as leading heroines in numerous other productions. Martile founded Opera Theatre of the Rockies in 1998 and has served as Artistic Director for 20 seasons, producing and/or directing more than 40 productions. With strong support from the Opera Theatre Board of Directors and the Pikes Peak Opera League, Ms. Rowland created the award-winning Opera Theatre Goes to School as an outreach/education arm of Opera Theatre that has brought opera performances to thousands of Colorado students and their teachers. With the encouragement and support of Colorado College, Vocal Arts Festival, an intensive training and performance program was created by Martile and has served as a training ground for singers across the United States, Asia, and Europe for 17 years, with graduates performing world-wide. Ms. Rowland’s passion as a voice teacher for hundreds of young professional opera singers has earned her Classical Singer Magazine’s 2006 Teacher of the Year Award. In 2014, Martile was honored by The Pikes Peak Arts Council as the recipient of The Eve Tilley Lifetime Achievement Award and was given Lifetime Achievement honors by the Pikes Peak Opera League in 2018. Martile has served as Artist In Residence for the Colorado College Music Department for more than 20 years. In recognition of her tremendous contributions to the music community, Ms. Rowland received an honorary degree on May 19, 2019, from Colorado College alongside commencement guest speaker, Oprah Winfrey. |
Steven LaCosse has a repertoire that spans Le nozze di Figaro to The Fantasticks and has directed over 100 productions. He recently directed Il trovatore for Piedmont Opera, Haydn’s Orlando Paladino for the AJ Fletcher Opera Institute, Nixon in China for the Princeton Festival and Gianni Schicchi for Opera Theatre of the Rockies where he was recently appointed Artistic Director of the Vocal Arts Festival.
A committed educator, he has been a resident opera stage director for the UNC School of the Arts for over 25 years and currently serves as the Artistic Director of the AJ Fletcher Opera Institute. He was awarded the University Of North Carolina Board Of Governor’s Teaching Award in 2011. |
Executive Board of Directors
Susan moved to Colorado Springs in 1981 from the University of Iowa to begin her 40+ year career as an interventional cardiologist and is now doing a “pro bono” cardiology clinic at Mission Medical Clinic for the uninsured and under-insured. In addition, she has had extensive classical voice training with the honor of being a Metropolitan Opera audition finalist. In addition to being the featured soprano soloist in hundreds of performances and the featured soprano vocalist for spirituals at First Christian and "About the Negro Spiritual” program, She has performed as soloist for over a hundred benefit concerts and recitals for professional opera and symphony guilds in Colorado and New Mexico. She has served on the Pikes Peak Opera League Board, 5 years as President; on the Opera Theatre of the Rockies Board as a Director, and on its Executive Board as Vice President and then President of OTR; and as Regional Advisor to SFO.
Dr. Jensen holds Awards of Appreciation and Distinction in vocal performance from Colorado Opera Festival, Colorado Springs Symphony, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Pikes Peak Opera League, and has a Lifetime Achievement Award with lifetime membership from Pikes Peak Opera League. “My passion has been to support creative endeavors in the arts and sciences, so that each individual can realize their special gifts and talents.” |
From the moment the curtain lifted on Lakmé in Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, Barry has been an avid opera fan. Having enjoyed performances in many cities spread across both Europe and the United States, Barry is extremely grateful for the chance to bring the vocal arts to as wide an audience as possible and support new talent.
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Mr. Henry began singing informally at an early age and began singing in choruses at Ritenour High School in St. Louis. He was also an actor primarily in the St. Louis area and considers himself "an actor who can sing" which lead to his further pursuit of vocal training.
He moved to Colorado Springs in 1986 and has sung with multiple local choruses including The Colorado Springs Choral, Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, and of course, with Opera Theatre of the Rockies. His first opera was Carmen in 2008, and he's been a company member ever since. He joined the Board of Directors for Opera Theatre for the 2020-2021 season and took on the Treasurer role in March 2021. |
A Colorado Springs Native, Kathleen has a passion for the city she grew up in and wants to help support local arts in the region. After earning music performance and business administration degrees at Adams State University, she returned to Colorado Springs to complete her MBA at UCCS. She completed five seasons with the Chamber Singers of the Colorado Springs Chorale and one season with the Madrigal Singers at Glen Eyrie Castle. Kathleen has previously served on the board of the Southern Colorado division of American Diabetes Association and serves on the OTR board as interim board secretary.
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Board of Directors
Sandra Damron is a life-long Colorado Springs resident. Her career in accounting led her to becoming El Paso County Treasurer and then to teaching accounting at the post-secondary level. Sandra has always made time for music. She is a long-time member of the Colorado Springs Chorale, and has also sung with the Colorado Opera Festival and Opera Theater of the Rockies. Sandra serves on the Boards of the Colorado Springs Chorale and the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs as well as Opera Theater of the Rockies.
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Victoria Hansen wears many hats in the realm of vocal music. As a singer she has performed numerous roles in operas and musical theatre performances with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Colorado Opera Festival, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, UCCS Theatreworks, the Pikes Peak Center, Millibo Art Theatre, and Colorado College. Her portrayal of Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appetit received the Pikes Peak Arts Council award for Outstanding Performance by a Classical Duo (with pianist Susan Grace) in 2014. She specializes in performing New Music compositions, most notably the music of her late husband Stephen Scott and his Bowed Piano Ensemble. She toured extensively with this ensemble throughout the United States, Europe New Zealand and Australia and is featured on three of their recordings, Paisajes Audibles/SoundingLandscapes (Albany Records), The Deep Spaces (New Albion) and Ice and Fire (Navona Records). She served on the faculty of Colorado College as Principal Instructor in Voice at Colorado College from 2000-2014 where she initiated and directed their Musical Theatre Experience program. She continues to teach voice in her private studio and to delight in recreating the warbling cookery of Julia Child.
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Chris holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in voice performance and conducting from the University of North Texas. Since relocating to Colorado, Chris has performed with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Opera Colorado, Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, and the Colorado Youth Symphony with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.
Chris is a Principal Solutions Architect with AVI-SPL, helping companies with their Unified Communications needs. |
Recently relocated from NY, Stephen Locke joined the Purple Mountain Group at Morgan Stanley in March, assuming the role of Client Service Associate with a focus on the team’s community outreach, sponsorships, client events, and team administrative support.
Stephen holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Alliance University in Manhattan, NY. His undergraduate training has provided him the pleasure of performing in places such as; Hong Kong, Japan, & South Korea. He has also performed in Jazz at Lincoln Center and Lincoln Center in 2015 & 2018. He recently received his MBA in Management from Mercy University – also in Manhattan – where he studied management, business leadership, entrepreneurship, and economics. |
Nicole has lived in the Colorado Springs area since 1986. She spent her entire career in various forms of Financial Management, working in banking, government, corporate, small business and nonprofit accounting. Since her retirement from the Colorado Springs Philharmonic in 2010 as Director of Finance and Operations, she has served in various board positions including Treasurer for the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, President, Treasurer and Secretary for her HOA boards, member at large for the Home Front Military Network Advisory Board and as a Mt. Carmel Community Ambassador. She is honored to serve as President of the Pikes Peak Opera League.
She grew up around the world as a military brat and wife and is proud to call Colorado Springs home. She studied piano as a child in Germany and as a teenager in France and still spends time on her piano most days. She also sang in church and community choruses everywhere she lived. Travel has been a big part of her life, and she plans to continue doing that as long as she is able. |
Advisory Council
Christopher Wilkins Music Advisor |
George Preston Artistic Advisor |
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Sally Hybl |
Brian T. Murphy |
Dr. Darryl Thatcher |
Gloria Wendt |
Bee Vradenburg In perpetuity |
Barbara Webb In perpetuity |
Kathleen Fox Collins In memoriam |