Linda Weise is the president and CEO of Opus Creative Industries, a 501(c)3 dedicated to workforce development in the creative industries. She has dedicated her life to providing access to quality arts and cultural experiences and learning for people of all ages.
She created Opus Creative Industries to secure jobs in underserved, creative industries. She developed the PBS early childhood music and literacy program, Simple Gift Series. Created at the onset of COVID, she and six Colorado Springs Conservatory alumni brought essential and creative learning to young children across Colorado and, in January 2022, the rest of the nation. In 2022, the Conservatory and the Simple Gift Series team were awarded the Edward Ziegler Innovation Award from the National Head Start Association.
She is the founder of the Colorado Springs Conservatory (CSC). She established the Conservatory in 1994 to bring world-class performing arts education to the region. A graduate of Oberlin Conservatory in piano and vocal performance, she continued her post-graduate work at the Juilliard School for Opera Studies. Linda and the CSC have been recognized throughout the state and country with numerous awards, including the National Guild of Community Music Schools Milestone Achievement award and the coveted William Funk Award from the Colorado Nonprofit Association. Accolades for providing and making accessible to all interested in outstanding arts immersion studies, the Conservatory has been changing lives for nearly 29 years.
Linda is an active community advocate who serves or has served on these boards of directors: Governor’s appointee for the State Board of Colorado Humanities, Vice Chair Colorado Springs Leadership Institute (CSLI), Citizens Soldier Connection, committee for the annual Range Riders Street Breakfast, Regional Advisory Council for Central City Opera, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Fountain Fund, PILLAR Institute for Lifelong Learning, and Ars Nova Singers in Boulder. Her civic and artistic partnerships have lasted decades and forged new ways to bring the arts to many who would otherwise go without. She was the inspired founding partner along with Sam and Kathy Guadagnoli of the Mezzanine, a unique multi-genre performance venue. In 2022, Linda was selected to serve as an Honorary Commander at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) for the 2022 – 2024 term.
Linda is a graduate of both Colorado Leadership Institute and Leadership Pikes Peak. Her arts education includes the Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Music Festival, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Juilliard School for piano performance and opera. Linda has resided in Colorado Springs since 1992, where she currently lives with her husband, Keith Wells, and daughters, Christina and Kelsy.
