I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am about bringing this important work to the stage in Lexington. I have had the great pleasure of conducting Sanctuary Road now in two other productions and a total of four different cities, and yet nothing compares to the joy of bringing this piece home to Lexington. This opera is such a powerful testament to the creativity, strength, and the resolve of a people working to be free. This is part of a larger project which I’m calling “Telling America’s Stories.” Through this initiative, we will use opera to focus on some of the great stories in our country’s history, and we are proud to begin with Sanctuary Road. This is an important story to tell and I am thankful for the support of UK women in Philanthropy, the UK Office of Community Relations, the 250Lex Committee, Fayette County Clerk’s Office in collaboration with the Digital Access Project of Kentucky, the Lexington Opera House Fund, Alltech, and the many private donors who make gifts to UK Opera on a regular basis to help support the amazingly talented students who entrust their gifts to us for a brief time in their life’s journey. A special thanks also to Yvonne Giles, Shea Brown, Valerie Still and the entire Still family, Mayor Linda Gorton and her staff at the Mayor’s Office, and the many people who made this production possible. I am deeply indebted to you for helping us bring this beautiful production to the stage. Let’s keep telling America’s Stories for generations to come.

Everett McCorvey
UK Opera Theatre Producer