Love Makes the World Go Round by Dr. Juliana Bishop Hoch

Loveland Opera Theatre’s summer concerts began with its very first fundraising event “Love Makes the World Go Round” in 2006.  I created and produced a star-studded concert made up of friends and voice students, and we performed at the Bill Reed Middle School auditorium. The minute the lights went out at the end of the concert I knew it was the beginning of something very exciting!

As time went on, many, many more fundraising concerts and workshops were produced.  In 2010 a “Finding Truth in Singing” Alexander Technique workshop took place for ten amazing days at the UNC Opera Studio. William Barto Jones, master Alexander teacher, and Brian Luedloff, dramatic coach, taught side by side, creating magical results.  In 2011, the “How to Write Your Own Gilbert & Sullivan Operetta” fundraiser took place in a private home.  In 2013 the “Some Enchanted Evening” concert was performed at a private home with an “enchanting lake view”. In 2017 “It’s a Grand Night For Singing” was performed as a gala at the Rialto.

In 2018, I asked a donor if they would be interested in funding a FREE concert for our community as an outreach gift and the answer was “YES”!  Thus, LOT’s first FREE concert at the Foote Lagoon was created.  “Mamma Mia” was one of our most popular concerts with over 1,000 people in attendance.  People surrounded the lagoon and kids climbed up trees to get a good view.  This was one of my dearest LOT memories because it was soooo much fun!  This concert was repeated as a fundraiser in a private Loveland home the same summer.  In 2019, just before the pandemic lockdown, LOT performed another FREE concert titled “Gershwin & Cole Porter” at Foote Lagoon.  

During the pandemic, LOT performed numerous “virtual fundraising concerts” featuring singers who recorded from their bedrooms, homes, and churches.  This way LOT could continue performing. Thanks to many generous donations we were able to pay the singers and their accompanists during a very dark time in our world’s history.  Many opera companies folded during this time, but LOT was able to stay afloat mainly because we shifted to an online platform and kept the music alive.

In 2020, LOT singers and accompanists performed our “Rodgers & Hammerstein Jubilee” in masks recording virtually at the Rialto Theater.  Our first attempt had to be re-scheduled due to a COVID outbreak in our community, so it was videotaped and performed/aired live 3 months later.  All musicians were paid for both engagements. 

In 2021, LOT performed “Songs from the Castle” at Foote Lagoon, and in 2022, we moved our venue to the Foundry – a new performance space created by the Downtown Loveland Association.  That summer we performed excerpts from Brigadoon at the “Night on The Town”.  In 2023, we sang “Broadway Favorites” and in 2024 “Celebrate America”, which was one of my personal favorites at the foundry.  This was the last summer concert that I produced.  The selections in this concert were truly “Breathtaking” and I felt very proud of what we had accomplished with LOT, the Opera Company with A Heart.

The LOT summer concert tradition has continued after my retirement under the guidance of Kelsie Furst and Emily Morris. In 2025 we enjoyed taking a trip to Austria with the “Summer Festspiele” and this year with the Wild West Concert.  We remain forever grateful to our donor who has sponsored this event for so many years and the many audience members that have attended.  It truly takes a village.