"A Theory on Almost Anything" with Nancy Rhodes, John David Ernest, and Roger Jeff Cunningham

Circle For Original Thinking

Nancy Rhodes: Called "a champion of American Opera" by Ronald Rand, Nancy Rhodes is the long-time Artistic Director of Encompass New Opera Theatre and the librettist for The Theory of Everything, a new opera inspired by physics’ superstring theory of multiple dimensions and alternate universes. At Encompass, she has staged scores of operas, about 70 all told, including Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All, Blitzstein’s Regina, Britten’s Phaedra, Evan Mack's Angel of the Amazon, and The Astronaut's Tale at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Nancy staged the world premiere of Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe for San Francisco Opera, and Virgil Thomson’s Lord Byron at Alice Tully Hall, as well as new operas for the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and Pittsburgh Opera Theatre. Her acclaimed production of Grigori (Gregory) Frid’s opera The Diary of Anne Frank toured Cleveland Opera and was nominated for an Artistic Achievement Award. She has directed operas all over the world, including Stockholm, Finland, Istanbul, and Amsterdam, as well as speaking publicly and conducting workshops in Europe, South America, Russia, among other places. [You might say she is a Rhodes scholar) And 8 years ago, she launched PARADIGM SHIFTS, a Music and Film Festival that brings indigenous cultures, women's wisdom, and social justice/environmental issues in celebration of our planet, oceans, sacred lands, and wildlife.

John David Earnest is a composer who has written for orchestra, chamber ensembles, chorus, solo voice, concert band, opera, and film. In addition to several one-acts operas, his first full-length opera, The Theory of Everything, was commissioned by the Encompass New Opera Theatre, a collaboration with Nancy Rhodes, who wrote the libretto. A longtime resident of New York City, Mr. Earnest has taught music composition both privately and as a visiting professor at Whitman College in Washington, as well as adjunct teaching at Lehman College and Rutgers University.

Roger Jeff Cunningham is a co-founder of Encompass New Opera Theatre. He has gone on to teach Psychology in college. Roger created The Dream Table, which meets weekly and allows his students to discuss their night-time dreams and nightmares. He has a small private practice and continues to assist in the growth and development of Encompass.