# Torrie Allen

Torrie Allen is an American arts executive and former opera and concert singer. He is the president and CEO of Arts Midwest.

## Early life and education

Allen was born in El Paso, Texas. He earned a degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and a degree in vocal performance and opera at the Boston Conservatory. He studied voice with John Guarnieri in Los Angeles and Elizabeth Phinney in Boston and received coaching from Armen Boyajian and Lyndon Woodside in New York City.
He is a Fellow of the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program, affiliated with Harvard Business School, the University of Michigan, and the University of Texas at Austin.

## Career
### Performance Career

Allen began his career as a concert and opera singer. He made his solo debut with Boston’s Masterworks Chorale, performing Mozart’s Mass in C Minor at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre. He performed at Carnegie Hall with the Oratorio Society of New York and appeared in George Gershwin's Blue Monday with Billy Porter and the New York Pops Orchestra. His international performances include appearances with Opéra National de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Bregenz Festival Austria, Teatro Bellas Artes in Mexico, Prague Rudolfinum, and the St. Petersburg State Symphony in Russia.
Allen contributed vocals to I’m Madd on The Madd Rapper’s debut album, Tell 'Em Why U Madd, alongside artists including 50 Cent and Kanye West. He appeared in the 1999 documentary Aida’s Brothers and Sisters: Black Voices in Opera. His last solo recital, accompanied by pianist Svetlana Velichko, took place in 2016 and featured selections from Dimitri Shostakovich’s Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti.
In 1995, Allen was an apprentice in the Young Artist Program at Chautauqua Opera.

### Arts Administration

Allen became the artistic and executive director of Anchorage Opera in 2007. His tenure included producing new American operas and regional premieres such as The Grapes of Wrath by Ricky Ian Gordon, Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, La Tabernera del Puerto by Pablo Sorozábal, and Mrs. President by Victoria Bond. Under his leadership, Anchorage Opera was recognized by the Paul Allen Family Foundation as a "bright spot" in the Pacific Northwest. He co-founded the Opera Apprentice Program at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the Acting for Singers Workshop at the Last Frontier Theatre Conference.
Allen currently serves as the president and CEO of Arts Midwest, one of six U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (US RAO). His work focuses on artistic innovation, community prosperity, and rural arts access across a nine-state region. He co-chaired the founding of the U.S. Regional Arts Collective and has served on the boards of the National Independent Venue Association Foundation, Americans for the Arts, The Great Northern, and the Alaska World Affairs Council. He currently serves as co-chair of National Arts Strategies.
At the 2018 Tessitura Conference in Orlando, FL, Allen delivered a keynote address titled Arts Administration and Creative Transformation. In 2019, he was a keynote speaker at the Creativity Conference at Southern Oregon University (SOU). He moderated the panel discussion on Opera’s Mission for the 2020s at Opera Conference 2022 and participated in The Politics of Art: Panel Discussion at Opera America’s 2021 conference, addressing civic responsibility in opera.

## Recognition

In 2022, Allen was recognized by Twin Cities Business as one of its Top 100 People to Know.

## Personal life

Allen is married to Tiffany Cooper, a Broadway actor and executive public speaking coach.

## Selected Operatic Productions
### Fully-Staged Productions

| Year | Title | Composer | Production Type | Role(s) | Company & Location |
| 2013–2016 | Bounce: The Basketball Opera | D. Roumain | New production | Producing Director | Ardea Arts, NY, NY |
| 2011 | Mrs. President | Victoria Bond | World Premiere | Executive Producer | Anchorage Opera, NY, NY & Anchorage, AK |
| 2010 | Eugene Onegin | Tchaikovsky | New production | Artistic & Executive Producer | Anchorage Opera: Chamber Opera Series |
| 2010 | Bon Appétit | Hoiby | New production | Executive Producer | Anchorage Opera: Chamber Opera Series |
| 2010 | The Audition | Kalmanoff | New production | Executive Producer | Anchorage Opera: Chamber Opera Series |
| 2010 | A Hand of Bridge | Barber | New production | Executive Producer | Anchorage Opera: Chamber Opera Series |
| 2010 | Malady of Love | Engel | New production | Executive Producer | Anchorage Opera: Chamber Opera Series |
| 2009 | Pagliacci | Leoncavallo | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2009 | Suor Angelica | Puccini | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2009 | Il barbiere di Siviglia | Rossini | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2009 | Carmen | Bizet | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2008 | Il Trovatore | Verdi | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2008 | Don Pasquale | Donizetti | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2007 | Die Entführung aus dem Serail | Mozart | New production | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |

### Semi-Staged & Concert Productions

| Year | Title | Composer | Role(s) | Company |
| 2011 | We Salute You: A Tribute to America’s Armed Forces | — | Creator, Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2011 | Spellbinding Moments in French Opera | — | Creator, Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2010 | The Power of Love (Opera Pops Concert) | — | Creator, Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |
| 2009 | La Tabernera del Puerto | Pablo Sorozábal | Executive Producer & Artistic Director | Anchorage Opera |