Arts Insider with Janna Hinebaugh
Janna Hinebaugh, TACA’s Development Director, shares how her artistic journey as an opera singer has shaped her path, fuels the work that excites her most at TACA, and informs the performances that continue to inspire her.
What’s the most unforgettable moment you’ve had as an artist, or how did you first discover your path into the arts?
I’m a trained mezzo-soprano and spent my early career performing on stage, so my relationship to the arts is very personal. Some of my most unforgettable moments came from that time—standing just offstage before an entrance, or realizing mid-performance that the audience was truly with you.
When people think of an opera singer, the stereotype is often diva—and while I will occasionally enliven that moniker, some of my most memorable moments on stage came not from standing alone in an aria, but from being part of something much larger. I’ve always been drawn to the collective sound: orchestra, chorus, and soloists breathing and moving as one.
One of the most unforgettable experiences of my performing career was standing on the stage of Symphony Hall, singing the triumphant final bars of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. “Aufersteh’n, ja aufersteh’n wirst du, mein Herz, in einem Nu… Was du geschlagen, zu Gott wird es dich tragen.” In that moment, surrounded by the full force of the orchestra and chorus, the music, the moment, was bigger than any one voice—including my own. It was overwhelming in the best way: humbling, communal, and transcendent.
That experience decades ago shaped what I’ve always loved most about performing—the power of the collective experience, the shared creation of sound and meaning. Being part of a larger whole, contributing to something that could not exist without every voice present, is where the true power of the art form lives for me.
In your role at TACA, what part of the work truly lights you up, especially when it intersects with your own artistic background?
What energizes me most is the matchmaking—connecting donors to the organizations and artistic work that genuinely align with their passions, pairing artists with funders who believe in their vision, and fostering collaborations between organizations that can be stronger together. Having spent my early career as a performing artist, I understand how transformative the right support can be at the right moment. At TACA, I get to bridge those worlds—artistic ambition and meaningful investment—and help build relationships that sustain creativity over the long term. That connective work is deeply fulfilling to me.
Tell us about a performance you saw in the last year that you couldn’t stop thinking about, and what made it so memorable for you?
The performances that stay with me are the ones that insist on being felt. Art isn’t meant to be simply beautiful or pretty—it’s meant to move you: to make you think, to make you feel, to leave you changed from the person you were when you walked in, even if only for a moment. This past year, I saw a performance that did exactly that. It was fearless and emotionally honest, and it lingered long after the final note. As a former performer, I’m acutely aware of the risk it takes to create that kind of experience, and when it succeeds, it’s unforgettable. Art like that is an ember—it keeps our humanity alive.