Knoxville Opera
Chyna Brackeen served as the Director of Marketing, Public Relations & Development as well as Rossini Festival Director at Knoxville Opera, a non-profit arts organization. While there, she developed and executed effective communications campaigns, outreach initiatives, educational programs, and special events to advance awareness of and participation with KO throughout Knoxville and the surrounding areas. As one of only three full-time staff members, she was also responsible for day-to-day operations of Knoxville Opera’s administrative duties, including fundraising, education/outreach, ticketing, office management, and communications; supervision of Ticketing and Education staff; budgets, projections, pricing, and goals; management of Board of Directors, key staff and consultants; strategic planning; and collaboration with business, community, and government leaders.
Highlights:
In first season, increased opera subscriptions by more than 15% over previous years.
Planned an advertising campaign (“The Hottest Ticket in Town”) that resulted in 21 ADDY awards on the local and district levels, including a special Award of Distinction.
Managed the development, operations and marketing of Knoxville Opera’s Rossini Festival, growing it from 2500 attendees prior to her arrival to over 30,000 in her first year (2004) and 80,000 in 2006.
Brackeen’s dramatic impact on the Rossini Festival resulted in it being designated as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast.
The combination of “The Hottest Ticket in Town” campaign and Rossini Festival resulted in Knoxville Opera’s most successful season in history, selling out every performance in advance.
Winner of an Opera America Bravo! Award for innovation in arts marketing.
Season Companion Guide
The 2004/05 Knoxville Opera Season Companion Guide sought to break down common misconceptions about opera and make it more accessible. With a tongue-in-cheek style, an etiquette guide, and free tickets for friends of subscribers, the subscription campaign was a tremendous success and resulted in a fully sold out season for the first time in the company's history.
