Board of Directors

 

Jerry Tietz, President

Currently serves as the Director of Concert Management at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, having previously served Chicago Opera Theater first as the Director of Artistic Operations, later being appointed to General Manager in 2012. A native of the Chicago area, Jerry holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin and began his career in 2005 as the artistic administration intern at Glimmerglass Opera Festival in upstate New York where he would return in 2006 as the company’s artistic coordinator. In 2007 Jerry moved to Manhattan to accept a position in the vocal division at Barrett Artists (then Herbert Barrett Management) where he represented over 70 artists, finding successful placements with symphonies, opera companies, choral organizations, and academic institutions throughout North America. Jerry currently resides in Rogers Park with his partner, Mark, their cat, Oberon, and corgi, Puck.

Karen Patricia Smith, Secretary

Karen is Professor Emerita of Library and Information Studies, Queens College, New York. Throughout her life, she has maintained a strong and committed interest in three very different areas: baroque music, teaching, and literature for young people. She earned a B.A. in music at Herbert H. LehmanCollege, N.Y., where she was awarded the Charles Hughes Music History Award. She has also earned advanced degrees in education at Lehman and at Teachers College, Columbia University. Karen has served as teacher, curriculum writer, and school administrator for the Yonkers Public Schools in N.Y.,prior to joining the faculty at Queens College. There, she specialized in teaching and designing children’s and young adult literature courses for future youth services librarians, and wrote and edited numerous publications in this area. While teaching and also giving presentations in the U.S. and abroad, Karen’s interest in baroque music continued to grow. As an amateur musician, she has studied baroque recorder and more recently, has taken up the challenge of learning the baroque oboe. Currently, she is working on a Certificate in Core Musical Skills in the Evening Division of the Juilliard School of Music. Passionate about baroque opera, she was thrilled to hear about the Haymarket Opera Company years ago, and since then, has regularly attended the inspired and elegant performances of this wonderful Company. She is honored to have been recently appointed to the Haymarket Opera Company Board of Directors.

Mary Mackay

Currently, Mary serves as an Associate Executive Director at the 60,000-member American Library Association, overseeing publishing. Mary has worked in publishing and educational organizations in France, Japan, and her native England. Her expertise is in communications, marketing, and helping non-profit organizations flourish financially. Mary has always been engaged in music—as an amateur participant (choral singing and studying harpsichord with Chicago early musician Jason Moy), as an enthusiastic audience member, and as a board member. She travels widely with her husband, but closer to home, loves making the most of Chicago’s endless cultural and outdoor activities. Like other board members, Mary was impressed by how quickly Haymarket made its mark on the Chicago music scene, and was drawn to it by the energetic professionalism and exuberant productions with outstanding performers, music, sets, and costumes. She is inspired by the vision for Haymarket’s future, and welcomes the chance to work with committed and creative experts who have a gift for focusing on excellence and growth while perpetuating artistic joy.

Douglas Walter

Doug is an enthusiast of early Baroque music and welcomes the opportunity to help bring such music to Chicago and the greater national and international musical community. He believes that Haymarket is ideally positioned to bring Baroque opera treasures, many of them little known, to this greater community, and he values the opportunity to help build Haymarket Opera’s capacity in order to realize that goal. Doug’s professional background is in law and finance (Harvard College and Law School), and he formerly was a partner in the international law firm, Jones Day. Currently, he and his wife, Pam, are active board members and supporters of several other wonderful organizations: the Brain Research Foundation (Doug) and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and the Illinois Institute of Technology (Pam) and have had long time involvement with the Founders’ Council of the Field Museum and other organizations. Pam and Doug spend a major part of the year in Italy, at their second home in the countryside outside Arezzo, where they are active olive farmers. They also participate in local Arezzo activities, most importantly the restoration of a major altarpiece by Pietro Lorenzetti (1320), which they fondly hope will be available for the rest of the world to admire at a very important exhibition of Sienese art of the 1300's, scheduled to open in October 2024 at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and in the spring of 2025 at the National Gallery London. 

Michael Young

Michael is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Illinois Institute of Technology. At IIT he served as director of the Clinical Psychology Program and as department chair. His research addresses cognitive and emotion regulation factors in depression, especially seasonal affective disorder. Michael grew up in Chicago and the suburbs and obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. from Adelphi University. As a serious amateur student of classical music and opera he reads and listens widely and collects historical recordings of opera singers, mostly from the 78-era. He studied voice in New York and Chicago and took music theory classes at Queens College. He has sung in a variety of choruses, including those of the University of Chicago and the Oak Park and River Forest Symphony. He also was head of the music committee at K.A.M. Isaih Israel Congregation. Michael has attended Haymarket regularly since 2013 and also attends the Chicago Symphony and Chicago’s other opera companies. In addition, he always finds a way to get to the opera when attending scientific meetings in Europe. His hobbies include homebrewing and craft breweries, vegetable gardening, and cheering for the White Sox and Bears. While walking daily on the treadmill he watches opera videos. Michael is always impressed by Haymarket’s combination of superb musical and theatrical values and looks forward to contributing as a member of the board.

Jeri-Lou Zike

A versatile, energetic musician, Jeri-Lou enjoys a variety of artistic activities in symphonic, baroque, and chamber music. She is principal and founding member of the Metropolis Symphony Orchestra and principal second violin of the Chicago Opera Theater. She is also a member of the Chicago Philharmonic, the Joffrey ballet orchestra and the Ravinia Festival Orchestra. As a period instrument performer, Ms. Zike is concertmaster of Haymarket Opera Company which she manages alongside the Artistic Director, Craig Trompeter. Other musical credits include principal of Baroque Band, soloist with the Chicago Baroque Ensemble, Concertmaster of the University of Chicago Rockefeller Chapel Concerts, as well as performances with His Majestie’s Clerkes, Kansas City Music Consort, and Music of the Baroque. Ms. Zike is also a well-regarded contractor of musicians, providing orchestras for the Apollo Chorus, Chicago Chorale, the Cathedral Singers, and Rockefeller Chapel Choir, among others. Jeri-Lou Zike has recorded with GIA, Centaur, and Cedille Records. To balance the intensity of music making, Jeri-Lou loves to swim, bike and run and is a five-time Ironman. 


 

Artistic Advisory Board

 
 

Jane Glover

Jane Glover has appeared with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Berlin Staatsoper, Royal Danish Opera, Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg, Opera National de Bordeaux, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Australia, Opera Theatre of St Louis, Teatro La Fenice, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. A Mozart specialist, her core repertoire also includes Monteverdi, Handel and Britten, but extends widely from the 17th to 21st centuries. In concert she has performed with all the major orchestras in Britain, repeatedly at the BBC Proms, and in recent seasons has also appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, St Louis Symphony, Orchestra of St Luke’s (Carnegie Hall), Sydney Symphony, Academy of St Martin’s in the Fields, London Mozart Players and City of London Sinfonia, Philharmonia Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society, New York Philharmonic, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Her many recordings include works by Mozart, Haydn, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Britten amd Walton with the London Mozart Players, London Philarmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Singers. Most recently she has released recordings of Haydn Masses and Handel’s Messiah. Her book, Mozart’s Women, was publish to great critical acclaim in September 2005. It was listed for both the Samuel Johnson Prize and the Whitbread Prize for Non-Fiction. She was awarded a CBE in the 2003 New Year’s Honours. Ms. Glover is Music Director of Chicago's Music of the Baroque. 

 
 

Harry Bicket

Renowned as an opera and concert conductor, Harry Bicket is especially noted for his interpretation of baroque and classical repertoire. He is Artistic Director of The English Concert and Chief Conductor of Santa Fe Opera. Plans for the 2015/16 season include returns to Oslo Philharmonic and Royal Northern Sinfonia as well as his debut with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Opera includes both Le Nozze di Figaro and Rusalka at Houston Grand Opera and Maometto at Canadian Opera Company. Harry and The English Concert continue their Handel cycle with Orlando which tours to Europe and America. Wigmore Hall appearances include programmes featuring both Iestyn Davies and Andreas Scholl. Future plans include extensive concert and touring projects with The English Concert and visits to Cleveland Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera and Lyric Opera, Chicago.

 
 

Jerry Fuller

Jerry Fuller works with Haymarket Opera to continue the company's artistic growth in an economically sustainable way by drawing upon his background in opera, historically-informed performance practice, management, and philanthropy. Jerry worked his way through college as assistant principal of the Chicago Lyric Opera double bass section; received his MBA from the University of Chicago; developed management skills in marketing, strategic planning and information technology at the division, group and corporate levels of American Hospital Supply Corporation and served as Vice President of Investment Research for Duff and Phelps. Jerry is now President of the James S. Kemper Foundation and a consultant with the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

Jerry has maintained an active performance career that includes appearances with the American Bach Soloists in San Francisco; Handel and Haydn Society in Boston and hundreds of performances with early music ensembles in Chicago and the midwest.