Laura Pasternak Appointed to the Lyric Board
Laura Pasternak, Principal of MarketPoint LLC, has been appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Lyric Foundation of Baltimore. The Lyric Board is responsible for long-range planning and management of the Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric Opera House, and serves as trustees for the national historic theatre.
“The purpose of the Lyric is to enrich, educate and entertain through diverse performing arts programming,” said Pasternak. “We accomplish this by hosting and presenting a wide variety of quality arts programming, by continuing the tradition of opera in Baltimore, and through educational outreach programs and other opportunities to engage and collaborate with community partners.”
Recently, the Lyric underwent a major renovation, including installation of a fly tower that lifts the roof and the height of the stage from 62 feet to 80 feet (while the stage’s depth is also increased from 32 feet to 38 feet), safety improvements to the stage-house, upgrades to the mechanical system, a new steel grid and power distribution, a mechanical counterweight system (capable of handling heavy loads and modern equipment), improvements to fire separation in the stage-house/auditorium, new lights and sound system, new stage curtains, a restructured orchestra pit, and new lights, carpet and paint in the auditorium. Funding for the improvements was provided in large part by Patricia and Arthur Modell, as well as a host of individuals, foundations, regional businesses and government entities.
Baltimore’s iconic opera house opened on October 31, 1894, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Nellie Melba performing Handel’s “Sweet Bird” aria. Over the years, Ella Fitzgerald, the Philadelphia Orchestra, Beverly Sills, Oscar Hammerstein, Patti Labelle, and countless other artists have performed at this venue. In the spring of 1984, Yul Brenner starred as the King of Siam, in The King and I – over 70,000 attended during the show’s four-week engagement; that record was broken in 1987, when Cats sold 75,000 tickets.
It has hosted a wide variety of non-musical shows, as well, including lightweight boxing, professional wrestling, and the first demonstration of electric cooking in Baltimore. And when Robin Williams visited the Lyric, the show sold out in five minutes.
A woman-owned business since 2001, MarketPoint is a certified a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), by Maryland’s Department of Transportation, and also holds a Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
Prior to establishing MarketPoint, Pasternak held senior marketing and strategic planning positions with such companies as Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and Thomson Corporation. In addition to her work at MarketPoint, she serves on the mentoring committee for Network 2000, holds membership in the American Marketing Association and the Association for Corporate Growth, and speaks publically on various brand and marketing topics.
MarketPoint provides outsourced marketing and branding strategy for clients in the business-to-business, education and non-profit sectors. Founded in 2001, the firm helps clients to better understand and effectively address their marketplace, reposition their organizations, launch new products, penetrate new markets, build brand equity, survive mergers and acquisitions, foster brand-positive behavior throughout the organization, rebuild marketing departments, and address broader organizational challenges.
