As Nashville evolves, so does the city’s vibrant arts scene. John Hoomes, Nashville Opera’s CEO and artistic director, is hyperaware of this phenomenon, which he’s used to fuel his business model for the past 30 years. His bold vision has guided the company into fresh artistic terrain — and notably, helped grow its annual budget from under $400,000 to nearly $4 million. “We’ve had a lot of great growth,” he says. “But I attribute that a lot to our board and our volunteers, and also just [the] velocity of people here in Nashville that really believe in the arts,”
Nashville Opera hired John and his wife, Carol Penterman, as a joint unit in 1995 — him as artistic director and her as executive director. Before their arrival, the company presented one to two productions a year, mostly of traditional titles. John identified a need for increased programming and a broader range of time periods, styles and themes. “The opera world’s a little like a big steamship — it turns slowly,” says John. “But I see the turning, and I felt it when we first came to Nashville.”
Creative Expansion
To see how John has pushed the boundaries of local performing arts, look no further than Nashville Opera’s 2025-2026 lineup. “I believe in programming very eclectic pieces,” he says. An opera based on Stephen King’s The Shining opened the season with a bang in October, complete with daring performances and striking multimedia effects. “It’s a little bit of a risky choice, but I felt Nashville was ready for this,” says John. “And the response has been terrific.”
Giacomo Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West graced the stage in January, offering an Italian score about the American frontier. And in April, Nashville Opera will perform one of opera’s top 10 titles — Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
“Early on, we wanted to find a way for the opera community to break out of being fully traditional,” says John. “We will always do the famous pieces, but little by little, we started putting other pieces in that normally, in a city the size of Nashville, you would never have a chance to experience as an audience.”
Tangible Change
While John largely focuses on creative experimentation, the outreach programs he’s helped launch aim to create tangible change in local communities. Through robust education initiatives, performers selected from the Mary Ragland Emerging Artists program tour schools throughout Middle Tennessee, presenting fully staged operas designed for children — complete with sets, costumes and a piano. John conducts national auditions in New York to ensure students hear from the best singers possible.
Nashville Opera performed for roughly 30,000 schoolchildren in 2024 — and the number keeps climbing. “We do not charge the schools for us coming in, because a lot of schools are getting their art budget cut,” says John. “This is a way to bring music and arts into the schools. And through fundraising, we’re able to offer this at no cost.”
Ironically enough, Nashville Opera’s presence in the community grew during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to a lack of indoor performances, the company launched its Opera on Wheels program and purchased a rolling trailer stage, decking it out with lights and curtains. The stage appeared across the city, often at public parks and in the parking lots of assisted living facilities.
Opera on Wheels quickly cemented itself as a local favorite and has continued far beyond the pandemic. “The goal was always to grow our company and to create something that would be a vital part of the artistic landscape of Nashville,” says John.
For John, each of his initiatives must increase accessibility to the arts. His All-Access Opera program evolved from a five-year partnership with Vanderbilt University’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders and offers educational performances created for children with disabilities. Audience members can follow along with storyboards that help remove surprises and flag when loud noises or bright lights may occur. This toolkit has been adopted by other opera companies across the country, further influencing the intersection of inclusivity and performing arts.
What’s to Come
Thanks to the influx of people moving to Nashville, John believes that Nashville Opera is poised to reach new levels of success and community engagement, made possible not only by hard work but also the inherent magic of acoustic opera performances. “The singers are trained to project their voices over a full orchestra and fill an auditorium,” says John. “We’re all here breathing the same air.”
John’s 30th anniversary with Nashville Opera will be celebrated at La Bella Notte, the company’s key fundraising event, on Feb. 28.
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