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Dallas Opera’s Women’s Board To Honor Marnie And Kern Wildenthal

With the recent death of Henry S. Miller Jr., it seems like the glory days of The Dallas Opera‘s founding mothers and fathers had come full circle. Juanita Miller, Elsa von Seggern, Larry Kelly, Nicola Rescigno, John “Cute Curmudgeon” Ardoin, and so many others, who strove to bring the best of La Scala to the dusty plains of North Texas, are long gone.

Photo provided by the Women's Board of The Dallas Opera

We have now moved into the next generation of leaders for the opera. These are the people who took the dreams of their predecessors and turned them into reality. Need an example? Drive on over to the Winspear Opera House.

While there are individuals who have been part of the driving force for the opera’s growth, it’s become a true passion for certain couples. With as much concern as parents of a child, they have nurtured the opera to its present position. One of those couple is Marnie and Kern Wildenthal. They have used their individual strengths to help so many organizations in our community. For instance,

• Kern is currently the president of the Dallas Opera as well as a founding board member of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. He has  served on the boards of the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Citizens Council, Dallas Assembly, The Science Place, Dallas Symphony and Dallas Museum of Art,  Dr. Wildenthal was President of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas from 1986-2008, and in September of 2008 was appointed President of Southwestern Medical Foundation. He received the TACA Silver Cup Award for Volunteer Leadership in the Arts.
• Marnie was a teacher at the Episcopal School of Dallas for 30 years before retiring in 2008.  She has served on numerous boards including the Mental Health Association, Vickery Meadow Learning Center, Highland Park Education Foundation, Uplift Education, Chiapas Project, Shelton School, and Friends of WRR. She was elected Chairman of TACA in 2005 and she was President of Charter 100 in 2006-2007.  She was also docent chairman for Dallas Opera Guild.
• Together, the Wildenthals received the Virginia Chandler Dykes Award for Public Service.

With all of these accomplishments in mind, the Women’s Board of The Dallas Opera will honor Marnie and Kern at the 19th annual Henry S. Miller Jr. Founders’ Award luncheon on Wednesday, February 17, in the Main Ballroom of the Rosewood Crescent Hotel. Jolie Humphrey and Sarah Seddelmeyer are the event chairs, so you know that it will an exceptional occasion.

A well-deserved bravo to the Wildenthals!