Meet the Directors
When asked, Korby Myrick and Barbara Pritchard find themselves hard-pressed to pinpoint exactly when their long-standing musical collaboration and friendship began. That friendship was maintained while Korby spent extended time back east, during which she attended numerous operatic performances in major concert halls. She was left with the realization that something was missing: great operatic works were being left out in favor of all-too-familiar repertoire presented in large impersonal settings. Barbara was delighted not only to learn of Korby’s return to Tucson, but of their shared interest in creating an emotionally moving and relatable musical experience that could only be captured by performing in a smaller, more intimate venue. Such became the mission of Passion Project: Opera!.
Korby brings to the company not only her extensive experience as an opera singer, but as a teacher/coach, director, and producer as well. Barbara’s decades owning a thriving private practice in clinical psychology, along with her experiences as an opera singer, position her well to collaborate with Korby in managing this unique opera endeavor.
When they are not singing or making music, Korby and Barbara can often be found together chasing travel adventure or sharing favorite recipes. Laughter and love abound between these two ladies. Passion Project: Opera! is the natural reflection of this great friendship and partnership.
Korby Myrick // mezzo soprano, company director + music director
Mezzo-soprano Korby Myrick has been a mainstay of Arizona stages for years. She has performed in over fifty productions with Arizona Opera and has been a frequent soloist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
Outside of Arizona she has performed throughout the United States and Europe, with such opera companies as Opéra de Nice (France), Teatro Bellini (Italy), Spoleto Festival (USA & Italy), Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Tulsa Opera, Opera Carolina, and Pittsburgh Opera Theatre among others. Her signature roles include the title role of Carmen, Laura in La Gioconda, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Princepessa de Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur and Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia.
A noted concert artist, she has performed in Avery Fisher Hall with Musica Sacra and has been a frequent soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra. She has also sung with such orchestras as the Phoenix Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Stamford Symphony and New Haven Symphony. When she isn’t singing she often works as a music director, pianist, stage director, artistic director, chorus master, or vocal coach, and has served in these capacities with Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, Opera in the Ozarks, Arts Express, Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Christian Youth Theatre, and most recently, Stage Foundation Community Theater, where she serves as music director and pianist. Korby has been adjunct professor of voice at Wesleyan University, The Hartt School of Music, University of Arizona and Pima Community College, where she also ran the opera theater department. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Piano Performance and a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance, both from the University of Arizona. She maintains a thriving voice and piano studio in Tucson. ||| www.korbymyrick.com
Barbara Pritchard // soprano + co-director
Barbara Pritchard, Ph.D., discovered over time that her singing voice was in fact suited to the opera repertoire she had come to love. Although she sang in school and church choirs when young, it was only as an adult that during an audition she was told she had a “solo voice”. That feedback set her on the trajectory of private study, working with teachers in Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and eventually New York City.
Along the way, she has appeared with the Arizona Opera Company and the Opera Theater at the Pima Center for the Arts. She has been the soprano soloist in Arizona Opera previews sponsored by the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona, and opera programs by the Oro Valley Arts Council, once even taking the stage for a soprano soloist who became ill minutes before the curtain rose. Dr. Pritchard has been a guest soloist under Laszlo Veres for his “Opera Night” with the Tucson Pops Orchestra and The Foothills Phil, as well as with such ensembles as the Sons of Orpheus Men's Chorus. She has been the featured opera soprano in I Cantori, an ensemble devoted to opera and musical theater that appears throughout Southern Arizona.
She has combined her background as a Clinical Psychologist and a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Banner-University of Arizona College of Medicine to give lecture-recitals on applied psychoanalysis and opera that illuminate not only the motivations of an opera’s characters, but its composer as well. Organizations such as the Southwest Psychoanalytic Society have applauded the combination of her vocal and psychological talents in these entertaining and enlightening lectures.
Robin Bousel // board officer, executive administrative assistant + graphic designer
Robin Bousel has been performing and engaging in the arts for over 35 years. Recently returned to Tucson after 14 years in Chicago, she brings a wealth of experience both on and off the stage. In addition to performing, Robin worked extensively with small and midsized theater companies, contributing to their development as a consultant and supporting productions in a variety of Executive and backstage roles. Some of her favortie Chicago credits include a professional run of Tony 'n Tina's Wedding, Roberta in Zanna, Don’t!, and Sister Hubert in Nunsense with Cult Camp Productions. She has also hosted numerous cabarets and events for Chicago companies and charities and founded The FML Cabaret in 2018, focusing on post-traumatic growth through the arts.
Robin’s journey in the performing arts began early on in Nutley, New Jersey with various school productions, and then formalized in Tucson, Arizona, where she was a young performer at Arizona Theatre Company, Bianco Theatre at the Gaslight, Live Theatre Workshop, and her family’s company, Quicksilver Productions/Horror Unspeakable Productions, amongst others. Some recent productions since returning to Tucson include The Wizard of Oz (Saguaro City Music Theatre), The Miss Firecracker Contest (Live Theatre Workshop), People, Places & Things (TAZ), [title of show] (SAPAC), and most recently, Macbeth with Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre as part of Tucson’s first MacFestival. Robin is also currently serving as the Artistic Director for Winding Road Theater and works as a program director and Teaching Artist with Saguaro City Music Theatre.
No matter her role—onstage, backstage, or in leadership—Robin brings passion, humor, and a deep belief in the transformative power of the arts. She is dedicated to helping others discover how creativity can enrich their lives, just as it has shaped hers.