James E. Schaeffer is the Executive Director of the Long Leaf Opera. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Texas and a Master of Arts in HR Management/Organizational Development from Webster University, St. Louis.

A retired Air Force senior officer, Schaeffer served in a variety of flying, logistics, and command assignments while on active duty to include command of the largest base supply-chain organization in the world. His final assignment was as the NATO liaison officer during the siege of Sarajevo where he conveyed NATO's positions to the warring factions and the U.N.

Following retirement, he entered the electronics industry and was vice president of Trouvere, Inc of Cambridge, MA, president of Hi Notes, Perry, GA, and president of Spectron Electronics, Los Angeles. He is also the Director of the Auditory Therapy Project in Durham as well as on the Board of Directors of Sonus Research and Design, Providence, RI.

For the past eight years, Schaeffer has been an adjunct professor of business at North Carolina Wesleyan College.

He was the conductor of the Goldsboro (N.C.) Orchestra and principal bassoonist of the orchestras of Virginia Beach, Montgomery (AL), and Cambridge, England. Collaboration with a modern dance company, Choreo Collective, resulted in his composition "Eight Files" which was performed at the 2003 American Dance Festival among other venues. 

Dr. Randolph Umberger is Senior Professor of Theatre at North Carolina Central University, where he chaired the department for seven years. He is also the supervisor for the undergraduate Critical Foundations Division of Arts and Humanities. He holds and B.A. and M.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill in Dramatic Art and a Ph.D. from Tulane University in Theatre Literature and Criticism.

He is the author of two North Carolina outdoor dramas, The Liberty Cart and Strike at the Wind!, and has written or adapted a large number of plays for professional and university production. Of Mules and Men, which he wrote and directed, won the Kennedy Center Medal for the ACTF and played there to critical acclaim in 1991.

He has directed over one hundred productions, including classical and contemporary plays, musicals, operas, and outdoor dramas. Previously he was the artistic director for the Durham Savoyards, Ltd., and has directed the entire full-length Gilbert and Sullivan canon. He also paints Southwestern landscapes and had a one-man show recently, Isolations, at the North Carolina Arts Gallery.

He recently served as stage director for Carlisle Floyd's Susannah at Opera Fort Collins in Colorado. He and Maestro Keaton also staged the world premiere of Hollister's The Inca's Chosen Bride in Chapel Hill in 1997.

Randolph is also the author of the theatre section for a soon-to-be published book on the history of the arts in Durham. His latest play, Bye Bye, Blackbirds, played a month's limited engagement at the Harlem Theatre Company in New York City, and his adaptation of the G&S musical, Utopia (Un)limited, was performed in Cornwall, England, as the summer touring show for Cambridge University.

Maestro Benjamin Keaton is a well-known composer and conductor who has directed opera and musical theatre throughout the southeast. Mr. Keaton holds a master's degree in music from East Carolina University with additional graduate study at UNC-Chapel Hill. He taught in the Department of Music at North Carolina Central University for eighteen years and has been musical director for the Carolina Playmakers, The Durham Theatre Guild, The Liberty Tree, Jenny Wiley State Theatre of Kentucky, The Lost Colony, and Opera House Productions of Wilmington.

He was music director for the Durham Savoyards, Ltd., for whom he has directed the entire Gilbert and Sullivan canon, together with Places, Please!, his four-movement symphony for chorus and orchestra based on themes from all thirteen operas.

He has composed the music for four outdoor dramas, including Paul Green's Lone Star, and Randolph Umberger's The Liberty Cart. He composed the score for Remembered Nights, the 125th anniversary musical for Wilmington's Thalian Hall, and has composed a number of song cycles and choral anthems.

He has recently served as music director for Opera Fort Collins, in Colorado, where he conducted Floyd's Susannah

Most recently, Benjamin was awarded an Outstanding Citizen Award by the Durham Jaycees for his contribution over the years to the cultural enrichment of the Triangle. Two new works for chorus were premiered this year by St. Phillips Episcopal Church and Durham, and his collaboration with Umberger on Utopia (Un)limited was also performed this summer by Cambridge University.

Jamila Thompson is a website intern for Long Leaf Opera this season. She is originally from Charlotte, NC and currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jamila is a junior in the School of Library and Information Science, pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Information Science.

Currently, Jamila works at the new FedEx Global Education Center on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill, where she works as the Design and Communications Assistant. Her main task is to design posters, brochures, postcards, and flyers to promote upcoming programs. Learn more about the FedEx Global Education Center and their upcoming programs at http://global.unc.edu.

Jamila is looking forward to working with Long Leaf Opera this season. To learn more about Jamila, check out her personal home page at http://www.unc.edu/~jamilast.

Erica Carter is a recent graduate from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and a minor in Business.

After growing up abroad in Hong Kong and Sweded her family relocated to Huntersville, NC where she attended North Mecklenburg High School. Throughout high school and college Erica was involved in community theater productions and quickly discovered a passion for the stage.

Since graduation from ECU, Erica moved to New Zealand where she lived and worked odd jobs ranging from fruit picking to hotel management.

She now calls Raleigh home and works full time as the Director of Field Operations for The Pretzel Twister franchise. She looks forward to pursuing her love of opera and theater and is excited to be involved with Long Leaf Opera.

Lizzie is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pursuing a degree in voal performance and a minor in public relations through the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

After moving to Alaska at a young age, Lizzie joined a choir and quickly developed a love for music and performing. Over the next several years she traveled internationally with the group, performing in places such as Carnegie Hall and the Sydney Opera House. In high school, Lizzie began studying voice privately and discovered a passion for solo performance that eventually brought her to Chapel Hill.

In addition to being a student and interning with Long Leaf Opera, Lizzie is a server at 411 West in Chapel Hill. She is very excited about this opportunity with Long Leaf Opera and is looking forward to the upcoming season.