Opera San José - Virginia Wright

ADMINISTRATION

Virginia Wright,
Director of Marketing and Development

Ms. Wright is the former Executive Director of Santa Cruz County Symphony where she was responsible for planning, budgeting, fundraising and the management of marketing and administrative staff and programs. During her tenure with SCCS she worked closely with the Music Director to plan and produce a five-concert subscription series, benefit concerts, and educational concerts and programs at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium and Mello Center for the Performing Arts. Notable achievements include increasing donations to SCCS by 44%, securing a restricted gift of $81,000 for a Steinway grand piano, and doubling the amount of foundations grants from six to thirteen. Ms. Wright also refocused marketing efforts that resulted in single ticket sales increasing 33% from 2003-04 to 2005-06. The trend continues with concerts selling 5% above this season’s budgeted goals.

Prior to joining the Santa Cruz County Symphony in 2004, Ms. Wright worked as the principal consultant for her firm, Wright & Associates, where she provided a variety of strategic, marketing and business planning services to nonprofit organizations, and cultural and public art planning and market research services to governments, foundations and local arts agencies. Clients included the City of San José (San José Public Art Master Plan Project), AMS Planning and Research (City of Gilroy Cultural Facility Feasibility Study) and the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (Arts and Culture Program Research for Gilroy, Milpitas and the Mayfair District of San José).

Ms. Wright also served as a marketing and/or public relations consultant for such performing arts groups as the Santa Cruz Ballet Theater, Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra and Mission Chamber Orchestra, and was the research project manager of Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley in 1999. As a strategic planning consultant, she worked with numerous local arts groups such as Chamber Music Monterey Bay, South Bay Guitar Society of San José and Santa Cruz's Museum of Art and History. For many of these groups Ms. Wright also provided business and fund development consulting, as well as board development, program evaluation and design.

Ms. Wright has served as Associate Director of Arts Council Silicon Valley, Business Manager for The Global Fund for Women in Menlo Park, and Co-Director of the Soviet American Performing Arts Exchange in San Francisco. She has volunteered extensively with such agencies as the City of Santa Cruz (Cultural Plan), City of San Jose (Operating and Organizational Development Grants Panel Member), and served as a board member for the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County.

Ms. Wright received her MBA in Business Administration from Santa Clara University, and her Bachelors of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, from San Francisco State University.

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