Our Donors

Thankful for Our Donors

We extend our sincere appreciation to all donors and acknowledge the following individuals, foundations and corporations for their generous gifts made between October 1, 2021, and June 15, 2022 in support of the Merola Opera Program.

Donors

Chairman's Circle
$50,000 & above


Crankstart
Frances K. and Charles D. Field Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
 

$25,000 - $49,999


Amazon
The Yvonne and Edgar Baker Fund
Eloise Bouye Foundation
The Bernard Osher Foundation
Leslys Vedder, in memory of James Forrest Vedder
 

President's Circle

$15,000 - $24,999


Jennifer and Chris Brahm
Barbara Bruser and Richard Clark
The Ces Butner Horizon Beverage Charitable Fund 
Margareta and Staffan Encrantz
Fitness SF
Grants for the Arts
Bernice Lindstrom
Ms. Amy Roth and Mr. Robert Epstein
Diane B. Wilsey
Mr. and Mrs. A. Lee Zeigler
In Memory of Cameron Waterman III
 

Diamond Circle

$10,000 - $14,999


Norby Anderson
Darla** and Richard Bastoni
James Scott Bays
Janet Cluff
The Hon. Marie Bertillion Collins and Mr. Leonard Collins
George and Susan Crow
Peter and Jayne Davis
Stephen Duscha and Wanda Lee Graves
John L. Garfinkle
Priscilla and Keith Geeslin
James Heagy, in memory of Janey Heagy
Mr. David Hugle and Mr. Haggai Niv
Mr. John Lee
Mr. Paul D. Nordine
Drs. Richard and Pamela Rigg
Sack Family Fund
The Henry W. and Nettie Robinson Foundation
Bruce and Fran Walker
Mrs. Carol A. Weitz
 

 

Platinum Circle

$5,000 - $9,999


Robert H. Beadle
Carlyn Clause and Alexander L. Brainerd
Mr. Michael Colbruno
Dr. and Mrs. William R. Crain
Drs. John and Lois Crowe
Tim Dattels and Kristine Johnson
Mary Foote
Miss Ursula Grunfeld
Mr. Lawrence A. Kern
Dr. and Mrs. John Lavorgna
Eve and Niall Lynch
Jean and Lindsay MacDermid
Betty Maddux
Midge and Shireen Mansouri
Carlos Penikis
Bob and Terri Ryan
Jeannie Sack and Jordan Sachs
Jack and Betty Schafer
Carolyn Shaw**
Dr. David D. Stein and Dr. Phyllis A. Kempner
Moya Verzhbinsky
Mr. Patrick Wilken and Mr. David Dickson
Ms. Faye Wilson
Susan York
Mrs. John A. Zderic
Stephen and Connie Zilles
 

Gold Circle
$2,500 - $4,999


Amici Di Merola
Adam Arthur Bier and Rachel Bier Lem
Dr. Phyllis B. Blair
Ms. Langley Brandt
Karen Broido
Castellucci Napa Valley
Chan Family Fund 
Dr. and Mrs. Melvin Cheitlin
Mr. Hugh J. Coughlin
Valerie Crane Dorfman
Dr. James Cross and Mr. Charles Antonen
Mrs. Denise Cutler
Arianne Dar
Ms. Jeanne Dorward
Mr. Robert A. Ellis
Roberta and Mark Emerson
Five Arts Foundation
Beatrice and Paul Gomory
Michael A. Harrison and Susan Graham Harrison
Mr. Fred Hartwick
Dr. John L. Herbert
Greer and Thayer Hopkins
Mr. Robert Jacoby and Ms. Jennifer Baik
Mr. Michael H. Kalkstein and Ms. Susan English
Drs. Joan B. and James Kelly
Ms. Nelda Kilguss
Karen J. Kubin
Miss Renee O. Leap
Mrs. Nancy Donnell Lilly
Ms. Sylvia R. Lindsey
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Mardesich
Myron Marx and Cora Yang
Mr. Donald L. McGee
Ellen and Paul McKaskle
James R. Meehan
David Miller
Roland Montemayor
Cathy and Howard Moreland
Anne L. Morton
Mrs. Pamela Murdock
Scott and Andrea Nagelson
Mr. Glenn H. Reid**
Barbara Ross**
Mr. Paul Sack
San Francisco Opera Guild East Bay Chapter
Miss Dorothy Schimke
Mr. Steven Shladover
Barbara Sonnenblick
Dr. and Mrs. W. Conrad Sweeting
Ruth Uchimura
Steven D. Goldby and Anita Weissberg
William Karl Schwarze Trust

 
 

Silver Circle
$1,000 - $2,499


Steven Abbott
Mr. Clyde Allen
Adam Arthur Bier and Rachel Bier Lem
Ms. Lucia Bogatay
Ms. Brooke Bourland
Mrs. Romana Bracco
Mr. Martin S. Checov and Mr. Timothy J. Bause
Michael Darnaud and Jodi Klein
Dr. Philip and Mrs. Elayne Dauber
Mr. James F. Dean
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority - San Francisco Alumnae Chapter
Peggy and Reid Dennis
Mr. Orlando Diaz-Azcuy
Ms. Evamarie Doering and Mr. Robert Munday
Mr. Peter Felleman
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh W. Foster
Barbara B. Friede
Bernice Greene
Ms. Theresa Hallinan
Judith Hamilton
Joseph H. Harris Jr. in memory of Joseph H. Harris and Margaret A. Harris
Patrick Hitchcock
Wilma Horwitz
Ms. Andrea G. Julian
Anne and Jeffrey Katz
Mr. Sven Kjaersgaard
Joan Shelbourne Kwansa
Kathe and Ben Lange
Ms. Myra K. Levenson
Mr. Roy Levin and Ms. Jan Thomson
Mr. William Lokke
Mr. George Lucas and Mr. Tom Rothgiesser
Deborah Marion, Tax CPA, EA
Ms. Maura Markus
John and Tessa Melvin
Mr. Robert B. Mison
James A. Noe III
Suzanna G. Pollak
Ms. Susan K. Prather
Mr. and Mrs. John Renard
Robbins/Cullen Family
Dr. Andrew Rombakis
Carl Schaper
J. H. Silveira, M.D.
David L. and Barbara G. Sloss
Roselyne Chroman Swig
Mr. Kimberly M. Webb and Mr. Richard R. Rossi
Ms. Ann L. Williamson
Mr. Christopher E. Wiseman and Mr. Eric W. Sleigh
Ms. Shirley Woo and Mr. David Rosenfeld
Yermack Family Fund
 

 

Bronze Circle
$600 - $999


Dr. Vincanne Adams
Theodore and Sophie Aldrich
Ms. Linda Barrett
Mr. and Mrs. Joel Bean
Miss Carol Benz
Dr. Roy C. Bergstrom
Raymond and Minnie Chinn
Mrs. Beverly Coughlin
Ms. Lenora Desmas
Keith Doerge
Ms. Pamela D. Ferris
Ms. Jean Kellogg
Ms. Eiko Kikawada
Ms. Eugenia Loken
Patrick McCabe
Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Michener
Dr. and Mrs. Hans Orup
Nancy Petrisko and Don Beckham
Ms. Merrill Randol
Mr. and Mrs. John Renard
Mr. and Mrs. Paul A. Renne
Ms. Freda Scott and Mr. Jason Danielson
Ms. Kimberly Twesme
Diana C. Yee
Mr. David Zebker
 

 

Benefactor
$300 - $599


Norman Abramson and David Beery Charitable Fund  
Ms. Karin Albright
Mr. and Mrs. David Anderson
Mr. David N. Barnard
Mrs. Marcia Benjamin
Ms. Jodie Beyer
Maurice and Mary Sue Bizzarri
Linda Blum
Joanne R. Bourland**
Mr. Bruce Bowen and Ms. Junona Jonas
Mr. Richard Brashear and Ms. Harriet Ivey
Dr. and Mrs. Melvin C. Britton
Karen Burtness Prak and Jan Willem Prak
Charles and Janet Chiang
Ms. Carol Copperud
Mr. Arthur Davidson
Ms. Barbara Dwyer
Elaine Gerstler and Booker Holton
Steven Goldberg and Sandee Blechman
Dave Gomberg and Diana Lum
Ms. Barbara E. Harms
Hunter P. Harris
Ms. Julie Harris
Mr. Daniel Hersh
Ms. Diane Hidy
Ms. Peggy Hill
Ian Hinchcliffe and Marjorie Shapiro
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Houck
Judit Jackovics
Mr. Cliff Jarrard
Elsie M. Kelly
Mr. Frank Kelly
Doug Lacey and Cindy Silvani-Lacey
Ms. Lamar Leland
Ms. Marcia Leonhardt
Janice Levy
Norman and Helen Ann Licht
Kathie and Dexter Lowry
Jim and Susan Malott
Michael McGinley
Mr. Steven L. Mendoza
Brenna Moorhead
Ms. Ruth Murad
Ms. Joan O'Leary
Dr. Judy O'Young and Mr. Gregg Hauser
Ms. Marie Orsi
Anne P. Gray
Michael Peskin
Emma and John Popek
Hiroko Prather
Ms. Patricia L. Preble
Alan and Nancy Raznick
Ms. Nancy Reilly
Mr. Robert Ripps and Mr. Steven Spector
David Roe
Mike Rolland
Mr. Victor Rowley and Dr. Stanley K. Yarnell
San Francisco Opera Guild Marin Chapter
Mr. Sean SeLegue
Margaret V. Sheehan
Diana and Richard Shore
Natalie O. Shuttleworth
Prof. Alan Smith and Dr. Helen Lew
Ms. Theresa A. Stuart
Garret Swart and Indiana Strombom
Mary and Terry Vogt
Dr. Bradford Wade and Dr. Linda Riebel
Daphne and Stuart Wells
Carl and Betty Zlatchin
 

 

Founder
$100 - $299


Mr. Robert Abra
Barbara and Kenneth Adams
Michelle Adams
Alan Almquist
Ms. Michele C. Anderson
Roger and Mary Ashley
Cantor Roslyn Barak
Marc Barberis and Catherine Mikami
Mr. and Mrs. Kent T. Baum
Paul and Linda Baumann
Megan Below
Mr. Stephen Bertram
Victor P. Bonfilio, JD, PhD.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Brock
Mrs. Kathleen M. Brown
Judy and John Burke
Nancy and Patrick Burke
Dr. James Marvin Campbell
Bruce and Mary Alice Carswell
Lorraine and Lionel Chan
Thalia and Tyler Chan
Mr. John Chiappolini
Clay and Kim Clement
Mr. Martin Cohn
Katie Colendich
Mr. Robert Cook and Ms. Blanca Haendler
Mrs. Louise Costigan-Kerns
Patricia Craig
Jessica Czajka
Ms. Diane Daniels and Mr. Leonard Heil
Ms. Francine S. Davis
Mr. and Mrs. Harry L. E. Dennis
Ms. Irene Dietz
Professor Sandra Ferrari Disner
Judith Donahue
Rose Mary Dougherty
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Edelman
Mr. Ed Eng
Mr. and Mrs. George Erdi
Lauren and Erik Erickson
Aaron Fan
Pat and Richard Farnsworth
Mr. and Mrs. Vern Felder
Roland Feller Violin Makers
Dr. and Mrs. Robert Fenwick
Mr. Frederick S. Fields and Ms. Roxanne Holmes
Mr. Richard D Fleischman
Carolyn Ford
Joseph and Barbara Fredrick
Frederick Gabali
Dr. Scott Gale
Ms. Carol Ghinger
Mr. John Gildersleeve
Dr. Erich Gruen and Ms. Ann Hasse
Ms. Sara Haber
Mrs. Bronwyn H. Hall
Mr. William Hamilton
Mr. Larry Hanover
Elisabeth Hartman
Mr. and Mrs. Melvyn Hetzel
Ms. Wendy Hillhouse
Mr. Ephraim G. Hirsch and Ms. Dianne Fillippi
Mr. Barry D. Hovis
Ronald T. Hughes
Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Hume
Mr. Luther Jackson and Ms. Cecilia Deck
Hermia James
Ms. Judith Kahn
Ms. Ingrid Kallman
William Kinsolving
Sally Lane Kirby
Ms. Ludmila Kisseleva-Eggleton and Mr. Peter Eggleton
Eva Klein
Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Kohs
Judith A. Lamberti
Mr. Steven Langer
Marcia Lazer
Mr. Richard Ledon
Ms. Margaret Levitt
Ms. Donna Lim
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Lin
Ms. Shirley Long
Kent Matson
Ms. Deborah K. Miller
Erie Mills and Thomas Rescigno
Patricia Mitchell
Ms. Della Mundy
Gwen and James Neary
Betty Newman
Elissa Newman
Tim and Kara O'Leary
Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Oliver
Kathleen Olson
Mr. Craig Oren
Brenda Osborne
Marie Louise Otto
Ms. Mitzi Palmer
Katie Parquet
Mary and Patric Powell
Kathryn Preissner
Ms. Frances Quittel
Richard Reeder
Ms. Judith L. Reynolds
Daniel Riley
Sandra and James Robbins
Ms. Isabella Rosen
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rosenberg
Gail I. Rubman
Dr. Milton Schaefer and Mr. Scott Plakun
Mrs. Hanne Schultz
Mr. and Mrs. William Schuppel
Mr. John Sheppard
Jesus Olivas Sierra
Mr. Hiram Simon
Mrs. Harriet Simpson
Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Slayen
Ms. Gwen Sobolewski
Christine Staples
The Rev. Dr. and Mrs. David Stohlmann
Ms. Blanche Germain Streeter
Alice Swanson
Betty Taisch
Tommy Talbot
Thomas Tragardh and David Cortez
Elsa H. Tranter
Robert Turner
Mr. Cesar Ulloa and Mr. Gary Aliperti
Jessica Vapnek
Mr. Albert J. Vizinho
Ian and Julia Wall
Barbara Moller Ward
Ms. Rosalie V. Weaver
Stanley and Elaine S. Weiss
Dr. and Mrs. David Werdegar
Dr. Ronald Wing
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Wittwer
Betty Woo
Eugenie Yaryan
 

 

Basic
$25 - $99


Ms. Joan Adler
Ms. Joan M. Allen
Ms. Jane Anderson
Mr. Christian P. Bakopoulos
Mr. Edgar A. Benhard
Guy A. Campisano Jr.
Gee Kin Chou and Victoria Fong
Rosalind Colver
Ximena Cordova
Julia and Carl Dahl
Mr. Francis Garcia
Ms. Ruth Geos
Paula Gerhardt
Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Greene
Marie Hotz
Mrs. Nadine Hubbell
Steven Kivelson
Ms. Anna Lamothe
Ms. Alice Lehmann
Andrew and Anne Maverick
Judith May
William T. McCraw and Janet Muscio
Mrs. Charlotte McMinn
Elena Metlinski
Momentum
Ms. Katherine Norton
Ms. Eithne Pardini
Mark N. Pederson Md
Ms. Dagnija Peterson
Mr. and Mrs. Wolfgang Pohl
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Rodd
Mr. Stephen Silberstein
Derek Sinutko
Miss Maureen Smith
Ms. Cherrill Spencer and Mr. Rick Leder
Mr. Ian E. Stockdale
Aileen Tat
Miss Carol Tomlinson
Mr. Stephen Van Meter
Ms. Virginia Vida
Frances Wallace
Steve West
Mr. Donald Whitton
** deceased

Lifetime Honorary Members

In recognition of their invaluable contributions to the Merola Opera Program

Chris Bragg
Sheri Greenawald
Mark Morash

 

In-Kind Donors


Norby Anderson
Bay Area Graphics
Maurice and Mary Sue Bizzarri
Jennifer and Chris Brahm
Suzanne Gelber & David Rinaldo
Christian Hardy with Culinary Excellence Catering
Hinman & Carmichael LLP
Drs. Richard and Pamela Rigg
Step By Step c/o Nancy Chin
Carol A. Weitz

 


Corporate Matching Gifts Donors


Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough LLC
IBM
Union Bank of California

 


Merola Legacy Society


Ms. Barbara Adams
Mr. and Mrs. David Anderson
James Scott Bays
Robert H. Beadle
Maurice and Mary Sue Bizzarri
Donna Blacker
Agnes Chen Brown
Joanne R. Bourland
Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Bowen
Mr. Donald Buhman and Mr. Wray Humphrey
Russell P. Chappell
Donna Chazen
Maureen Clarke
Carlyn Clause and Alexander L. Brainerd
Mr. Michael Colbruno
Mr. Jose María Condemi
Dr. James Cross and Mr. Charles Antonen
George and Susan Crow
Mr. Gerald F. Currier and Mr. Cleveland M. Smith
Peter and Jayne Davis
Mr. and Mrs. James F. Dean
Mr. Cesar L. De Joya, Jr.
MMs. Evamarie Doering and Mr. Robert Munday
Mr. Stephen Drewes
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Dwelly
Dr. Ranveig N. Elvebakk and Mr. Thomas Farren
Roberta and Mark Emerson
Mary and Tom Foote
Mr. Thomas Foutch
Mario Fracchia
Barbara B. Friede
Joseph and Antonia Friedman
Ms. Magda Gabali
John L. Garfinkle
Ms. Pamela George
Elaine Gerstler and Booker Holton
Mrs. Rolf Gille
Dave Gomberg and Diana Lum
Beatrice and Paul Gomory
Ms. Tracy Grant and Ms. Mélanie Grant
Miss Ursula Grunfeld
Dr. and Mrs. John G. Gurley
James Heagy
Mr. David Hugle and Mr. Haggai Niv
Ms. Marian Huntoon
Dagmar L. Jamison
Ms. Joanie Juster
Mrs. Jeannie Kaufman
Ms. Jean Kellogg and Mr. Henry Tang
Drs. Joan B. and James Kelly
Eiko Kikawada
Ms. Ludmila Kisseleva-Eggleton and Mr. Peter Eggleton
Ken Kolby
Ms. Barbara F. Kral
Barbara Graham Kreissler
Joan Shelbourne Kwansa
Ms. Olive Lawton
Mr. John Lee
Ms. Marcia Leonhardt
Bernice Lindstrom
Jean and Lindsay MacDermid
Betty Maddux
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. Mardesich
Deborah Marion, Tax CPA, EA
Myron Marx and Cora Yang
Ms. Denise E. Mauldin
Chris McCrum
Bill Medigovich
Ms. Christine Miller
Robert B. Mison
D. G. Mitchell
Cathy and Howard Moreland
Ms. Camille Morishige
Ms. Thelma Morris
Mr. Albert L. Mosher
Mr. and Mrs. Michael A. O'Hanlon
Brenda Osborne
Ms. Frances Quittel
Mr. Glenn H. Reid
Mr. Robert Robertson
Dr. Andrew Rombakis
Peter and Bettina Rosenbladt
Ms. Louise A. Russell
Kenneth Ruta
Bob and Terri Ryan
Jeannie Sack and Jordan Sachs
Debra R. Schoenberg
Ms. Marilyn G. Seiberling
Jean A. Sherlin
Natalie O. Shuttleworth
David L. and Barbara G. Sloss
Ms. Sue Sommer
Nancy and Robert Soper
Dr. David D. Stein and Dr. Phyllis A. Kempner
Ms. Blanche Germain Streeter
Dr. Sam Thal
Miss Carol Tomlinson
James S. and Gayle G. Tunnell
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Victor
Mr. Albert J. Vizinho
Doug Von Qualen
Bruce and Fran Walker
Mrs. Barbara Wanvig
Mr. Kimberly M. Webb and Mr. Richard R. Rossi
Mr. Patrick Wilken and Mr. David Dickson
Ms. Ann L. Williamson
Susan York
Ms. Heather Young
Mrs. John A. Zderic
Stephen and Connie Zilles
Anonymous

 

Tributes


IN MEMORY OF
Brian Asawa
Jim Brown
Zheng Cao
Lucy Carlund
Alexander D. Cross
Frances Escobar-Hosoya
Robert F. Ewing
Robert C. Greene
Joseph H. Harris and Margaret A. Harris
Janey Heagy
Raymond Kelly
Vivienne E. Miller
Milton Mosk
James Murad
Ron Nunan
Virginia Reyna
Henry W. Robinson and Nettie Robinson
Suzanne Turley
James Forrest Vedder
Cameron Waterman III

 

IN HONOR OF
Jody Bourland
Jennifer and Chris Brahm
Barbara Bruser Clark
Michael Colbruno
Hugh Coughlin
Margaret Evans Dennis
Sheri Greenawald
Dale Hill
David Hugle and Haggai Niv
Jean Kellogg
Sylvia Lindsey
Jean and Lindsay MacDermid
Nancy Petrisko
Sunny Scott
Carol A. Weitz
Patrick Wilken

 

Merola Opera Program Endowment


Kurt Herbert Adler - Merola Endowment Fund
Amici di Merola Fund
The Anthony I. Balestrieri Endowment Fund
Richard J. Bartlett Memorial Fund
Jean E. Bennett, Jr. Fund
Blair Scholarship Fund
John S. Brooks Memorial Fund
Florence Bruce Fund
Bruser Family Fund
Carlton F. Bryan Fund
Betty Cable Fund
Zheng Cao Opera Fund
Cooper Endowment Fund
Darwin Memorial Fund
Reid and Peggy Dennis Endowment Fund
Grace A. Diem and Alice E. Siemons Endowment Fund
Oreste J. di Muro Endowment Fund
In Memory of Jean Donnell Fund
The Philip L. Eaton Endowment Fund
Querita Eybel Endowment Fund
Mr. and Mrs. A. Barlow Ferguson Endowment Fund
I. P. Patrick Gallagher Fund
Nicholas and Mary Ann Gannam Endowment Fund
L. Henry Garland Memorial Fund
Al Garren Fund
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Study Grant Support Fund
Donna Lee Grassman Memorial Fund
Gary Griffith Memorial Endowment Fund
Gropper Memorial Fund
Anneliese Gruenberg-Bremer Fund
Otto Guth Fund
Mark Haffner Apprentice Coach Fund
In Memory of James T. Heavey Fund
Elaine Henderson Endowment Fund
David S. Hugle and Haggai Niv Endowment Fund
The Jacobs Family Trust
In Memory of Peter G. Kavantjas Endowment Fund
Drs. Phyllis A. Kempner and David D. Stein Endowment Fund
Leona Gordon Lowin Memorial Fund
Lotfi Mansouri Apprentice Director Fund
Sandra McCabe Fund
Meltzer Family Memorial Fund
Merola Members Endowment Fund
The Vivienne E. Miller Scholarship Fund
Albert L. Mosher and John E. McCormick AIDS Memorial Fund
Milton J. Mosk and Thomas E. Foutch Endowment Fund
Vija Hovgard Nadai Endowment Fund
Verna Osborne Fund
The Bernard Osher Foundation Career Grant Endowment
Mary A. Powell Career Grant Fund
In Honor of Leontyne Price Endowment Fund
Rusty and Mike Rolland Fund
Charles Rolle, M.D. Endowment Fund
Marie Louise Rosenberg Memorial Endowment Fund
Gerald B. Rosenstein Fund
Mary Roy Fund
Schick Memorial Fund
James H. Schwabacher, Jr. Fund
The Shenson Family Fund
Richard Strauss Endowment Fund
Margery Tede Endowment Fund
Blanche Thebom Trust Fund
Dickson Titus III Fund
Alma Brooks Walker Memorial Fund
Frank W. and Matilda O. Weymouth Living Trust Fund
In Memory of Patricia Yakutis Endowment Fund
 
4 Star Square

For more information on how you can support Merola Artists and Alumni with a gift, contact:

Tracy Grant

Director of Institutional & Individual Giving

tgrant@merola.org

 
 
EXPLORE MORE

screenshot.jpg

 

OUR BOARD


Merola operates in close artistic collaboration with San Francisco Opera but is an independent nonprofit organization. Governed by a separate Board of Directors, Merola is responsible for its own long-term financial stability and fundraising, and is grateful to the hundreds of loyal members, donors and foundations who support the Program.
Learn More