Celebrated opera singer Kelley Nassief, Director of Opera and Opera Studios at Portland State University, has been selected as the inaugural Marilyn Crilley Professor of Opera.
The new professorship was recently established thanks to a generous donation by George Rowbottom, in honor of his wife, Marilyn Crilley, who passed away in 2020.
Marilyn Crilley was an avid supporter of the arts with a particular interest in social justice. Growing up in Los Angeles, California, during World War II, she endured the unjust incarceration of Japanese-American families, an experience that would shape her desire to end injustice and inequality through the arts. Toward that end, she served on the boards of several Portland nonprofits, including Step It Up, Inc., Portland Opera Association, and Resonance Ensemble, whose mission is to promote meaningful social change through music.
The first in her family to graduate from college, Crilley made a career for herself in the high-tech industry, where she started out as a mathematician at Jet Propulsion Lab during the heyday of the space program. She later landed at Hewlett-Packard, working in a variety of project and line management positions.
Marilyn Crilley and her husband, George Rowbottom, shared a strong passion not only for opera and the arts but also for the opportunities that education brings and its ability to improve stability and well-being in communities.
George Rowbottom and Marilyn CrilleyThe couple bonded early on over their adventurous love of opera. “We both liked the new stuff. We saw ‘Nixon in China’ here and really liked it. When we were living in San Jose, we got to see a couple of John Adams opera premieres in San Francisco,” Rowbottom recalled. “Of course, in classical opera, you can’t beat ‘La Traviata.’”
“Every year Marilyn would look up a company’s season in a city we’d never been to,” he said. “Particularly if it was something new, we were going to travel to see it.”
Spurred by their dedication to promoting the art form, soon they were supporting young artists at Portland Opera, and both found it satisfying to forge relationships with emerging opera singers who were facing tough competition as they laid the foundations for their careers.
“These are people who are talented, working very hard. And the chances of having a successful opera career are slim,” said Rowbottom.
Crilley was a connector who placed value on nurturing old friendships and forming new ones, including those with the young artists the couple supported. “She was very caring. She noticed things about people,” he commented.
One of the connections that the couple valued was their friendship with Christine Meadows, Kelley Nassief’s predecessor, who first introduced them to the program and the opportunities it offers to up-and-coming singers.
Kelley Nassief, herself a distinguished alumna of PSU's vocal program and once one of those up-and-coming singers, went on to become an internationally known, critically acclaimed opera singer. Celebrated for her performances on symphonic stages worldwide, she has sung lead roles alongside numerous acclaimed conductors and orchestras.
Named a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Nassief was awarded a Sullivan Foundation Grant, was named a Laureate of the Leonard Bernstein Jerusalem International Oratorio and Song Competition, and received a Richard Tucker Career Grant.
“Kelley Nassief’s impressive credentials and her passion for PSU’s Opera program are reflected in her exceptional guidance of our students,” said Dr. Leroy E. Bynum, Jr., Dean of the College of the Arts. “The Marilyn Crilley Professorship in Opera is a worthy investment in our Opera program and a fitting honor for such a warm, wonderful, and devoted supporter of the arts. Our students will surely experience the impact of Marilyn Crilley’s legacy for years to come.”
To make or discuss an impactful gift supporting PSU art faculty, students or programs, contact:
Kailin Mooney, Director of Development 503-725-5031 | mooneyk@psuf.org
Or, make a gift online at https://giving.psuf.org/give-cota.