Shira Renee Thomas is General & Artistic Director of Valley Opera & Performing Arts (VOPA), currently in its 18th season, based in Los Angeles’s San Fernando Valley. She has produced over 40 fully-staged productions, in addition to numerous concerts and other events, overseeing everything from auditions and casting, to audience development and marketing. VOPA has helped launch the careers of many singers who’ve gone on to perform in organizations such as English National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and San Francisco Opera, to name a few. As a singer herself, Ms. Thomas has performed as a soloist alongside such superstars as Quinn Kelsey and Christian Van Horn, as well as renowned artists such as Nicole Cabell, Rodell Rosel, and Milena Kitic. Among the numerous awards earned by Ms. Thomas, she won 1st prize in the prestigious Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Vocal Solo Competition in North Wales, which has hosted such legendary singers as Luciano Pavarotti and Bryn Terfel in past years. Having suffered from debilitating recurrent Depression for 25 years, Ms. Thomas has become an advocate for mental health, and is frequently invited to attend various events in order to tell her story of finally finding a treatment, Ketamine Infusion Therapy, that put her Depression into remission.
General & Artistic Director: http://VOPArts.org/
Singer: http://shira-renee-thomas.com
Mental Health Warrier: https://shirareneethomas.wordpress.com
