A Joyful Responsibility

BY KIM KOBERSMITH

Everett McCorvey, who put UK’s opera program on the map, uses his platform to spread a message of love and acceptance

Dr. Everett McCorvey has been a force on the Lexington music scene since 1991, when he was tapped to lead the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre. Growing up in Alabama, he had an early, deep and persistent connection to music, and he has found the Commonwealth to be a good place to share his passion. “When I moved to teach at UK, I noticed right away a major talent for singing and music in Kentucky,” he said.

As an arts leader in the state, McCorvey has been a faithful member of the Kentucky Arts Council for more than two decades. He was elected chair of the board this year. In that role, he looks forward to supporting artists and generating excitement for the arts in the Commonwealth. “I am very honored to have been appointed by both Democratic and Republican governors,” McCorvey said about his years of service. “The arts cross political lines because they can be enjoyed and shared by all. They make Kentucky a better place to live and work, a better place to grow.”

Many art forms and styles are within the purview of the Kentucky Arts Council—from modern sculpture to live theater to jazz music to folk dance. Its members work with the state legislature to write and promote arts-related policies and ensure that residents of every county in the Commonwealth benefit from the arts.

The Arts Council played a role in tornado recovery

MARK CORNELISON | UKPHOTO

in western Kentucky. The December 2021 tragedy resulted in losses for artists and art businesses. Because there is no national crisis funding for the arts, the KAC made a special application to the National Endowment for the Arts for emergency assistance. This kind of funding is now seen as a potential national model for supporting artists in crisis situations.

McCorvey finds it an exciting time to be in the arts as the world begins to emerge from the pandemic. “In the last couple of years, groups all over the Commonwealth found ways to connect with their audience,” he said. “The arts provided a balm to so many people who were isolated. Now, audiences are growing all over the state, and people want to participate.”

McCorvey is concerned about the future of arts funding. With money from the General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, KAC creates programs and administers grants that benefit artists and arts organizations. He said the Council’s annual allocation from the General Assembly has dropped from $4 million (about $1 per person in Kentucky) to $1.6 million during his 20 years with the Council.

Kentucky is home to a strong musical tradition— from marching bands to country artists to classically trained educators. But many of the brightest and best leave the state to make their way professionally. “The arts can be a major economic driver and have the ability to be a magnet, drawing people to the Commonwealth,” McCorvey said. “We need to figure out how to keep those artists here, to create an environment where they can live and work.”

As Kentucky Arts Council chair, McCorvey will continue his legacy of innovative leadership, a legacy he began at UK Opera Theatre. He has grown the program strategically from virtually unknown to nationally recognized as one of the most vibrant in the country. He began laying the foundation by recruiting additional faculty such as experienced vocal coaches and those with their own performing careers. Shifting venues to the Lexington Opera House raised the quality of performance opportunities for university students.

With that accelerated training and experience, students began to win major competitions across the country, with the first being the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New York City in 1994. Industry experts came for master classes and took word back to their circles that Kentucky was, as McCorvey called it, “a hotbed of young singers.” Graduates began winning esteemed positions in the

field. At a recent performance of Porgy and Bess at the Met, eight former UK singers gave debut performances in one night.

The Lexington community has stepped forward in support of the Opera Theatre, attending shows, underpinning major productions, and creating a foundation so all students have the means to attend. “We are now a major player in the opera world and recognized as one of the top places nationally for starting an opera career,” McCorvey said. “Singers all over the world studied at UK.”

For true UK fans, perhaps the most exciting collaboration for the program marries opera and, yes, basketball. (As an aside, McCorvey loves basketball and often sings the national anthem for Wildcat games.) As soon as he heard about BOUNCE: the Basketball Opera, McCorvey reached out to director Grethe Holby about getting involved. “UK is the basketball mecca of the universe,” he said. “I really wanted to bring these two worlds together.”

That discussion led to a yearlong collaboration. The show’s composers came to Lexington and worked on songs with students. The world premiere of BOUNCE was at UK, with McCorvey serving as the music director and conductor.

“At our first round of auditions, not a soul showed up,” he said. “It was a challenge finding opera singers that could play basketball!”

Through BOUNCE, McCorvey hopes to engage a new audience of basketball fans with opera. The show is performed on a basketball court and grounded in contemporary issues. “Talking about gun violence and how to make change is an important addition to the BOUNCE journey,” he said. “Lots of organizations are supportive of furthering this conversation through the show.”

In his years at UK, McCorvey has garnered recognition for innovative teaching and visionary directing and for his contributions to the Commonwealth. His honors include the UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement in 2018, the Lexington Music Awards Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, and the 1998 Acorn Award presented by the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education.

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McCorvey is involved in a dizzying array of music projects reaching beyond Kentucky as a performer, director, teacher, producer and administrator. The indefatigable McCorvey takes to heart his father’s favorite adage: “Love your work and you will never have to work a day in your life.” He said of his many projects, “I am still waiting to work my first day. This is all just restorative play.”

When this writer caught up with him in July, McCorvey was teaching at the Bay View Association Music School in Michigan. Then he was off to New York to direct a production of BOUNCE: the Basketball Opera. Also in New York, McCorvey serves as the artistic director of the National Chorale. He was honored to conduct the group for New Jersey’s 9/11 Commemoration on the 20th anniversary of the attacks last year at Liberty State Park.

One project that is near and dear to McCorvey’s heart is the American Spiritual Ensemble, of which he is the founder and musical director. Since 1995, this group has embarked on 35 tours, performing 600 concerts around the world and fulfilling his dream of preserving American Negro spirituals. It remains the only professional ensemble dedicated to the genre.

Alongside a career of teaching and directing, McCorvey is an active tenor soloist. He has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, the Kennedy Center and Radio City Music Hall, as well as in Italy, England, Spain, the Czech Republic, China, Brazil, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico and Peru.

McCorvey’s deep well of musical leadership springs from more than passion. So many doors were closed to people of color when he was growing up. He watched his parents get involved in the civil rights movement, and he doesn’t take his own opportunities for granted. He feels a joyful responsibility to celebrate his musical gifts by spreading a message of love and acceptance.

“Each of us on Earth has been given special talents,” he tells his students. “Find out your gifts and use them to make your community, the world, a better place.” Q

The UK Opera Theatre’s presentations of “It’s a Grand Night for Singing.”