Meet Our Directors
When asked, Korby Myrick and Barbara Pritchard find themselves hard-pressed to pinpoint exactly when their long-standing musical collaboration and friendship began. That friendship was maintained while Korby spent extended time back east, during which she attended numerous operatic performances in major concert halls. She was left with the realization that something was missing: great operatic works were being left out in favor of all-too-familiar repertoire presented in large impersonal settings. Barbara was delighted not only to learn of Korby’s return to Tucson, but of their shared interest in creating an emotionally moving and relatable musical experience that could only be captured by performing in a smaller, more intimate venue. Such became the mission of Passion Project: Opera!.
Korby brings to the company not only her extensive experience as an opera singer, but as a teacher/coach, director, and producer as well. Barbara’s decades owning a thriving private practice in clinical psychology, along with her experiences as an opera singer, position her well to collaborate with Korby in managing this unique opera endeavor.
When they are not singing or making music, Korby and Barbara can often be found together chasing travel adventure or sharing favorite recipes. Laughter and love abound between these two ladies. Passion Project: Opera! is the natural reflection of this great friendship and partnership.
Korby Myrick // mezzo soprano, company director + music director
Mezzo-soprano Korby Myrick has been a mainstay of Arizona stages for years. She has performed in over fifty productions with Arizona Opera and has been a frequent soloist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
Outside of Arizona she has performed throughout the United States and Europe, with such opera companies as Opéra de Nice (France), Teatro Bellini (Italy), Spoleto Festival (USA & Italy), Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Tulsa Opera, Opera Carolina, and Pittsburgh Opera Theatre among others. Her signature roles include the title role of Carmen, Laura in La Gioconda, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Princepessa de Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur and Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia.
A noted concert artist, she has performed in Avery Fisher Hall with Musica Sacra and has been a frequent soloist with the Spoleto Festival Orchestra. She has also sung with such orchestras as the Phoenix Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Stamford Symphony and New Haven Symphony. When she isn’t singing she often works as a music director, pianist, stage director, artistic director, chorus master, or vocal coach, and has served in these capacities with Arizona Theatre Company, Arizona Opera, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, Opera in the Ozarks, Arts Express, Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Christian Youth Theatre, and most recently, Stage Foundation Community Theater, where she serves as music director and pianist. Korby has been adjunct professor of voice at Wesleyan University, The Hartt School of Music, University of Arizona and Pima Community College, where she also ran the opera theater department. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Piano Performance and a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance, both from the University of Arizona. She maintains a thriving voice and piano studio in Tucson. ||| www.korbymyrick.com
Barbara Pritchard // soprano + co-director
Barbara Pritchard, Ph.D., discovered over time that her singing voice was in fact suited to the opera repertoire she had come to love. Although she sang in school and church choirs when young, it was only as an adult that during an audition she was told she had a “solo voice”. That feedback set her on the trajectory of private study, working with teachers in Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and eventually New York City.
Along the way, she has appeared with the Arizona Opera Company and the Opera Theater at the Pima Center for the Arts. She has been the soprano soloist in Arizona Opera previews sponsored by the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona, and opera programs by the Oro Valley Arts Council, once even taking the stage for a soprano soloist who became ill minutes before the curtain rose. Dr. Pritchard has been a guest soloist under Laszlo Veres for his “Opera Night” with the Tucson Pops Orchestra and The Foothills Phil, as well as with such ensembles as the Sons of Orpheus Men's Chorus. She has been the featured opera soprano in I Cantori, an ensemble devoted to opera and musical theater that appears throughout Southern Arizona.
She has combined her background as a Clinical Psychologist and a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Banner-University of Arizona College of Medicine to give lecture-recitals on applied psychoanalysis and opera that illuminate not only the motivations of an opera’s characters, but its composer as well. Organizations such as the Southwest Psychoanalytic Society have applauded the combination of her vocal and psychological talents in these entertaining and enlightening lectures.
Sohee Kim // administrative assistant + graphic designer
Sohee Kim is a versatile soprano whose work spans performance, arts administration, and scholarly research. On stage, she most recently performed the role of Lucy in Menotti's The Telephone at the University of Arizona and gave a solo recital at the Desert Rose Bahá'í Institute in Eloy, Arizona. She made her operatic debut with Passion Project: Opera! as Seconda Sorella Cercatrice in Puccini's Suor Angelica and has been recognized for her portrayal of Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at Illinois State University. She has also appeared as a featured soloist with the ISU Symphony in a world premiere by composer Steven Fox. Committed to church music, she serves as Soprano Section Leader formerly at Normal First United Methodist Church (IL) and now at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Tucson.
Beyond the stage, Kim has cultivated a broad and distinguished career in arts administration. She currently serves as Administrative Officer at Passion Project: Opera! and as Marketing & Artistic Assistant at the Opera Guild of Southern Arizona. She will also hold a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at the University of Arizona beginning August 2026. Earlier in her career, she held graduate assistantships at Illinois State University, supporting ensemble work, instruction, and performance operations. Her scholarly contributions are equally notable. Following completion of her M.A. in Korea, she advanced her master's research as a principal author of a paper in the Korean Journal of Youth Studies and contributed to projects with the Korea Arts & Culture Education Service, Daehaknaeil (Culture & Arts Yearbook), and Swanu. Kim is currently a first-year DMA student in Vocal Performance at the University of Arizona, studying with Professor Yunah Lee. She holds an M.M. from Illinois State University, an M.A. from Hongik University (South Korea), and a B.M. from Sungshin Women's University (South Korea).