Media Contact: Diane Shomper Development Manager/Board Liaison, OperaDelaware dshomper@operade.org (302) 442-7807
OperaDelaware Names Lianna Magerr as New Director of Development
Current Wilmington Children's Chorus Executive Will Join Company in January 2027
WILMINGTON, Del,. October 13, 2026 – OperaDelaware today announced that Lianna Magerr will join the company as Director of Development, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
Magerr currently serves as Executive Director of the Wilmington Children’s Chorus (WCC) in Wilmington, Del., a position she has held since 2020. In her new role at OperaDelaware, she will lead the company’s fundraising programs and build a comprehensive strategy encompassing individual and major gifts, corporate sponsorships, foundation and government grants, annual giving, planned giving, and special initiatives.
She joins OperaDelaware during the first year of General Director Eric Einhorn’s tenure. “In a season defined by exploration, partnership, and growth, I am ecstatic to welcome Lianna to the company.” said Einhorn. “Her vast experience and deep roots in the Wilmington arts community will not only propel the company’s fundraising efforts, but allow us to raise the bar of our work even higher.”
Magerr brings fifteen years of experience in Delaware's arts and nonprofit community, including serving 11 years at WCC, first as Manager of Operations and later as Executive Director. Her leadership has included working in partnership with OperaDelaware on WCC’s Neighborhood Choirs initiative; WCC has also been a collaborator on several of OperaDelaware’s mainstage productions, most recently Puccini’s Turandot in 2025.
She also has a personal history with OperaDelaware that dates back to her middle-school years, when she performed with the company as a WCC chorister. She remains an active professional vocalist, currently serving as a staff singer at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, Del.
“OperaDelaware has played an important role in my development as an artist, educator, and leader in our area’s arts and nonprofit communities,” said Magerr. “As Director of Development, I look forward to meeting the donors and friends who make OperaDelaware's work possible, learning what moves each supporter and connecting that to the mission.”
Magerr is a graduate of Leadership Delaware (Class of 2020), a participant in Longwood Foundation's Catalysts Together program (2024), and a 2025 Delaware Business Times 40 Under 40 honoree. She studied education (Middle Grades Mathematics) at West Chester University and lives in Wilmington, Del. About OperaDelaware
Founded in 1945, OperaDelaware is today the 11th oldest opera company in the United States. The company presents its programming through four major avenues: in mainstage performances of full operas with orchestra at The Grand in Wilmington; in chamber operas and artist-curated programs at our Studio on the Wilmington riverfront; in outreach and community performances throughout Delaware, as Pop-Up Opera; and in K-12 educational programming aimed primarily at underserved students. The company employs more than 250 full- and part-time artists and staffers throughout the season and operates on a $2.1M annual budget. Learn more at operade.org.