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Kelley O'Connor Comes Full Circle in Fresno Return

Zachary Maxwell Stertz

Mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor has received international acclaim performing with the world’s premier orchestras and conductors, premiering exciting new works, and breathing new life into familiar favorites.

A graduate of Clovis High School, it was her role as the poet Federico García Lorca in the premier of Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar which first brought her to national attention in 2003. She is also known for her performances of Peter Lieberson's Neruda Songs, and for her role in the premier of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary.

But while the GRAMMY award winning opera star has been a familiar visitor to the most famous concert halls in the world, this weekend she performs in her hometown for the first time, on stage at the William Saroyan Theatre with the Fresno Philharmonic.

O'Connor joined us in-studio to talk about her rise to stardom, her life in Fresno and about this weekend's homecoming performances.

Joe Moore is the President and General Manager of KVPR / Valley Public Radio. He has led the station through major programming changes, the launch of KVPR Classical and the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his leadership the station was named California Non-Profit of the Year by Senator Melissa Hurtado (2019), and won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting (2022).