Paula (Krakowski) Winans '74 Shares Love of Opera with Young People

August 27, 2006

August 27, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - Paula (Krakowski) Winans, director of education for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and 1974 graduate of DePauw University, "fell in love with opera in college when she played a lead role in The Marriage of Figaro," notes today's Kansas City Star. "'That's where it started,' she says. Winans received her bachelor's in music from DePauw University in Indiana and went on to get her master's in music from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. She taught public school music for 15 years before joining the Lyric in 1992 as the first director of education."

In 1993, Winans founded the Lyric's "opera camp," which hosted more than 70 students ages 7 to 19 this summer, and is featured in a separate story. The sidebar profile of Winans states, "She says her job doesn't seem like one because she feels she's helping children and families ... Winans is responsible for starting about 20 opera education programs for the Lyric. She has written lyrics for children's operas and, in 2003, conducted the world premiere of the opera One False Move, about girls bullying one another." (photo at right, from 2006 opera camp, by Doug Hamer)

"I really believe I was meant to be a teacher," Winans tells the newspaper. "I feel like this is my life's work."

Read the complete article by clicking here.

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