To celebrate its 10th anniversary at Eckerd College, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, or OLLI, is hitting a high note. Lots of high notes, in fact.
Ten live high-definition broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera will be shown on the big screen in the college's Miller Auditorium on the St. Petersburg campus starting Oct. 3 and running to April 30. The performances will include such popular operas as Il Trovatore, Otello, Tannhauser and Turandot.
Since December 2006, The Met: Live in HD has been broadcast around the world with fully produced operas — musicians, singers, dancers. The series has won Emmy and Peabody awards in its nine seasons.
Eckerd's OLLI program is one of 119 in the United States and the only one to partner with the Met for on-campus viewing, according to OLLI director Monica Kile.
Kile, 37, took over the post at Eckerd in July following her role as executive director of St. Petersburg Preservation and, before that, the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club. A native of Jacksonville, she moved to St. Petersburg 13 years ago.
The Met Opera broadcasts will further underscore Kile's self-professed joy in her new role.
"It's a dream job," she said. "I've always enjoyed working with an older population because of the life stories they have and the wisdom, intelligence and the institutional knowledge that's there," she said.
The OLLI program has an annual $49 membership fee and most members are 50 and older. Last year, Eckerd registered approximately 1,400 OLLI members and offered an estimated 400 workshops, lectures and related events, most focused on history, culture, the arts and languages.
OLLI members pay an average of $4 for each event; nonmembers pay a higher fee and can attend if there is space available. About half of the OLLI programs are on the campus while the rest are held on satellite campuses in Pinellas County, Kile said.
Tickets for the Met Opera broadcasts will be $25 each or $225 for all 10.
The opera series is co-sponsored by the college's Association for Senior Professionals at Eckerd College, WUSF and Westminster Communities.
Looking ahead to the fall and winter programs, Kile said, "Our biggest priorities are improving our online registration process and enhancing members' experience."
Plans for 2016 OLLI members include three international trips: two potential trips to Cuba and one to London, Kile said.
Contact Fred W. Wright Jr. at travelword@aol.com.