Ginny Arnett grew up in Williamsburg, Kentucky in a musical household, singing from a very young age. She studied piano in the Cumberland College Piano Preparatory Program through high school and was in the band and choir. She attended her first ‘live’ opera experience – Carmen, as a freshman vocal major at the University of Kentucky. “It was an experience I will never forget,” she says today. “I was mesmerized! We went on a bus to Cincinnati with other music students and faculty.” After that experience, she participated in UK’s Opera Workshop under Phyllis Jenness during her undergraduate years.
A 1967 graduate of the University of Kentucky School of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education/ Vocal Performance Degree, she taught elementary music in Lexington; Austin, Texas; and the Atlanta area. She also directed church choirs and children’s’ choirs in several cities, including Lexington. Years later, while living in Manhattan, she and her husband subscribed to the Metropolitan Opera and enjoyed many wonderful operas, two of the most memorable being Samson and Delilah” with Denyse Graves and Placido Domingo, and “Prince Igor” by a touring Russian company. She was honored as Teacher of the Year in Paulding County Georgia in 1993. She has taught private piano, and with husband Barry, also a musician, has lived in Brussels, Belgium, and New York City where Ginny studied French and art. They have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. “I am very proud of the School of Music and the renowned UK Opera Program,” she says. “It is my honor to support it through OperaLex.”
