Marc Scorca

President and CEO, OPERA America

Marc A. Scorcajoined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Under his leadership, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to nearly 2,500 organizations and individuals. The organization has also administered two landmark funding initiatives in support of North American operas and opera audiences and launched an endowment effort in 2000 to create a permanent fund dedicated to supporting new works and related audience development activities. In 2005, Scorca spearheaded OPERA America’s relocation from Washington, D.C. to New York City and the subsequent construction of the National Opera Center, which opened in 2012. The Opera Center’s recital hall was dedicated as Marc A. Scorca Hall in 2015 in honor of Scorca’s 25th anniversary with the organization.
Scorca has led strategic planning retreats for opera companies and other cultural institutions internationally and has participated on panels for federal, state and local funding agencies, as well as for numerous private organizations. He also played an instrumental role in the founding of Opera.ca and Opera Europa, OPERA America’s sister organizations. A strong advocate of collaboration, Scorca has led several cross-disciplinary projects, including the Performing Arts Research Coalition and the National Performing Arts Convention (2004 and 2008). He has served as a member of the U.S. delegation to UNESCO and currently serves as an officer of the Performing Arts Alliance, as a member of the Board of Overseers of the Curtis Institute of Music and on the Music Advisory Board of Hunter College (CUNY). Due in large part to Scorca’s contributions to the organization, OPERA America was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Scorca attended Amherst College, where he graduated with high honors in both history and music.