Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 9 - Madama Butterfly

53 | Lyric Opera of Chicago PATRICK BRENNAN Viola Brennan joined Lyric in 1992, coming from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra where he was Assistant Principal. He joined Grant Park Orchestra as well in 1995, and soon became Assistant Principal there. Starting violin at age nine, Brennan also studied Irish music, becoming Chicago Teenage Irish Fiddle Champion at 17. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Performance at Northern Illinois University. He continued his studies at Southern Methodist University, eventually transitioning to viola in 1986, studying with Rami Solomonov, then Principal at Lyric. He currently lives in River Forest, where he grew up and where he and his wife, Nora, raised their three kids. JOSEPH DUNN Assistant Box Office Treasurer “In many ways, and to many people,” Dunn says, “the people in the box office ARE Lyric. Obviously it’s important that box office people be courteous and professional.” Over 20 years, Dunn has assisted innumerable patrons with ticketing sales and solved various ticket problems like lost tickets, and even tickets to the wrong performance. Subscribers, he notes, had fewer issues than the general public, but he “enjoyed working with everyone. It was a pleasure, all those years, and I will miss my colleagues and our patrons.” ELIZABETH HURLEY Deputy General Director and Chief Advancement Officer Hurley joined Lyric in 2018 and worked closely with the company’s board and executive leadership to grow philanthropic support for the company. She was a member of the leadership team during the dark days of the pandemic when collaboration across the company and with the wider artistic community produced dozens of highly acclaimed digital programs that engaged new audiences, resulted in increased philanthropy, and positioned Lyric to emerge from the pandemic as a stronger and more nimble company. Before joining Lyric, Elizabeth served in leadership positions at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, the Art Institute of Chicago, and The Juilliard School. LEWIS KIRK Assistant Principal Bassoon/ Contra Bassoon Kirk’s first opera performance, as a teenager, was with the Mobile Opera in Alabama, playing second bassoon on Carmen . He joined Lyric in the 1987/88 Season, and has also performed with the Städtisches Orchester Bremerhaven in Germany and the Santa Fe Opera. In Chicago he has performed with Music of the Baroque, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater, Bach Week in Evanston, the Fulcrum Point New Music Project, and the Chicago Chamber Musicians. Kirk has served on the faculties of DePaul University, Northwestern University, and Roosevelt University, and, for the premiere run of Michael Daugherty’s Dead Elvis , for bassoon soloist with chamber orchestra, he donned full Elvis regalia. JOHN ROSENKRANS Principal Librarian Rosenkrans began his music studies with the piano at age 5 and discovered the bass at age ten. He earned performance degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and discovered the orchestral librarian world in 1993 at the Austin Symphony. In 1999, he moved to The Phoenix Symphony as their librarian, and arrived at Lyric in 2005. He has worked at the orchestra libraries in Minnesota and Los Angeles, served as librarian for the Spoleto (Italy) Festival in 1996, and spent two summers as the librarian for the Grant Park Symphony. He now lives in Geneva, Illinois, with his wife, cellist Kerena Fox. ANDREW TRUSK Carpenter Trusk retires after more than 30 years with Lyric. He began working at the company during the renovation in the 1990s, he established the welding and machine shop needed for the complex sets used in today’s productions. Trusk studied theatre and science at UIC and worked in scene shops in Chicago before touring with the Magic of David Copperfield show for three years. He plans to spend his days scuba diving the world. Congratulations! Lyric Opera of Chicago wishes to express its enduring gratitude, and warm congratulations, to these company members who will retire at the conclusion of the season.