The Sound Of Something New

Washington Concert Opera appoints Tehvon Fowler-Chapman as Executive Director

By Patrick D. McCoy

In Conversation:  The newly-minted executive director Tehvon Fowler-Chapman sat down with Prince George’s Suite Magazine & Media to chat about his appointment, navigating a concert season during the pandemic and artistic connections in the area. In the 34 year history of the organization, Chapman is also the first person of color to serve in the leadership role.

SUITE:  First and foremost, Congratulations!  What excites you most about taking the helm as Executive Director of Washington Concert Opera during this unprecedented time?

TFC: Thank you so much. I think the most exciting part for me is about all of the opportunities that this time presents the organization with. I think that the pandemic has created a lot of uncertainty for the arts in general, but you’ll see that it’s created the opportunity for us to find new ways to engage with our audience and create art that we may have never considered before. The positive thing about there being no precedent to this situation is that there is no precedent, no standard operating procedure, no real rule book that confines us to anything we didn’t like about our industry in the past.

SUITE:  You have had the opportunity to work with and coordinate the logistics of many concerts profiling world-renowned artists. Who would you say recently made an impression upon you in terms of their professionalism and artistry?

TFC: I have loved every chance that I’ve had to work with both Larry Brownlee when he was an artist-in-residence at Wolf Trap Opera. He is the definition of a professional to me in how he works as an educator and performer. Also if you have been watching everything he has been up to during the pandemic, it highlights his versatility, adaptability and advocacy for effective change in opera.

SUITE: What initially inspired you toward this path of music and the arts?

TFC: I was artistic early on in my childhood. My older brother, younger sister, and I had a band where we used our toys as instruments. We would do variety shows for my parents with poetry and dance.  I started doing martial arts, which is just as much about form and movement as it is combat.  In elementary school, I dabbled in several other art forms. I was very much into drawing and loved the acting portions of my classes. I started on the piano in around the first grade. So already, I was very much engaged in creating art in whatever way that I could. Even though I kept withdrawing and acting through parts of middle school, the thing that kept me in music for this long was my transition to percussion in the fourth grade. I loved playing the snare drum, and playing the piano before meant that I could pick up keyboard instruments like the glockenspiel quickly. And from then, it was a combination of people who supported me in my growth as a percussionist: my elementary school band teacher who kept me engaged at an early level; my parents, who went through a lot so that I could stay in music programs; and my high school band and percussion directors, who pushed me above and beyond both as a musician in the program and then as an educator after that.

SUITE: As the new executive director at Washington Concert Opera, what initiative would you like to introduce that perhaps has not been explored before with the company?

TFC: I am going to say that my biggest initiative (aside from getting through the pandemic and staying active with our audience) is engaging a broader D.C. community, starting with engaging the D.C. opera community in increasingly meaningful ways. That is the broader goal, which is not super groundbreaking, but organizationally that means a few things: 1.) creating new performance and education opportunities outside of Lisner auditorium, and 2.) re-examining our view of what rarely heard operas truly are. The challenge that we will face here is how COVID-19 will affect our ability to capacity build, but I feel confident in where we are as an organization.

SUITE:    What was the very first opera that you saw and what was your first impression?

TFC: The very first opera that I saw was also the very first opera where I also happened to be in the pit: Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Even with symphonic music, I have always felt more connected to performances where I have a strong musical connection, so being able to play all of these percussion instruments in the pit really allowed me to create my own experience when I was in the audience by tying my musical intimacy with the opera to the action onstage. And that influenced a focus of mine with regards to our WCO community: improving the experience of each individual.

SUITE:   How will you balance your work with vocal arts?  Will there be partnerships or crossover in your work with the two organizations?

TFC: Being an Executive Director is a big job, especially during a pandemic. I would not be able to say that I understand organizational capacity if I didn’t know my own, and both Peter Russell and I knew early on that if this job came together, my role of Vocal Arts DC would need to be smaller. That being said, I do feel compelled to support them in their digital initiatives in the way that I can help, so I am super grateful to Washington Concert Opera’s board for understanding VADC’s need for me to stay behind the scenes for the next couple of months.

  My current plan is in finding a successor to my job and taking more of a strategic role in helping them in the implementation of their digital season and several other strategic initiatives that have been in the works. I’m super excited to see this digital project come to fruition, as it’s a big step for Vocal Arts, and there are some great programs in the works, including a visual album by Davóne Tines (which we’re hoping will be the “Lemonade” or “Black is King” of the opera world).

I’m so grateful to Peter for his leadership, and I love Vocal Arts DC and what they do. It’s also great to be leading an organization that he, along with Stephen Crout, helped to build the foundation for and is still so heavily involved in! I don’t have any clear plans yet on what our partnerships or collaborations will look like, but be sure that I have some concepts for crossover. Being able to understand both organizations so intimately means that I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunity for collaborations in the future.

ABOUT PATRICK MCCOY: A native of Petersburg, VA, Patrick holds a BM in Vocal Performance from Virginia State University and a MM in Church Music from Shenandoah Conservatory. Formerly the Performing Arts Columnist for Washington Life Magazine, he currently is a freelance writer, publishing articles for several noted publications, including The Washington Post, Early Music America Classical Music Voice North America, The Afro-American Newspaper, CBS Washington and Examiner.com. He is a member of the Music Critics Association of North America, National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc., The American Choral Directors’ Association, a member of the Shenandoah University Alumni Board of Directors and a Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He serves as Organist/Choirmaster at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Zion Parish in Beltsville, MD and serves on the music faculty of Virginia State University where he teaches applied voice, music appreciation and assist with the University Concert Choir. Visit http://www.patrickdmccoy.com