Marc A. Scorca joined OPERA America in 1990 as president and CEO. Since that time, the OPERA America membership has grown from 120 opera companies to 3,500 organizations and individuals. Under his leadership, OPERA America has administered landmark funding initiatives in support of the development of North American operas and opera audiences. In 2005, Scorca spearheaded OPERA America’s relocation from Washington, D.C. to New York City and the subsequent construction of the National Opera Center, which opened in 2012 and serves 80,000 guests each year. The Opera Center’s recital hall was dedicated as Marc A. Scorca Hall in 2015 in honor of Scorca’s 25th anniversary with the organization.
Scorca has led strategic planning retreats for opera companies and other cultural institutions internationally, and has participated on panels for federal, state, and local funding agencies, as well as for numerous private organizations. He also appears frequently in the media on a variety of cultural issues. A strong advocate of collaboration, Scorca has led several cross-disciplinary projects, including the Performing Arts Research Coalition and the National Performing Arts Convention (2004 and 2008). Working with Opera Europa and Opera Latino America, he presided over the second World Opera Forum in Los Angles in 2024.
Scorca has served on the board of the Performing Arts Alliance, the Music Advisory Board of Hunter College, and the Board of Overseers of the Curtis Institute. He is a member of the board of the Dr. E. Lee Pearce Foundation. Scorca has delivered more than 75 lectures at the Brooklyn Academy of Music since 2006; he attended Amherst College where he graduated with high honors in both history and music.