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MSC OPAS re-schedules The Barricade Boys performance for April 7, 2022

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The concert originally scheduled to open the 2021-2022 MSC OPAS season will now close the season!

COLLEGE STATION, TX: Due to current international travel restrictions, the cast and crew of The Barricade Boys are unable to travel to the United States at this time. Their performance, originally scheduled to open the MSC OPAS “Let’s Get Together” season on September 14, has been postponed to Thursday, April 7, 2022. All Barricade Boys tickets will be automatically moved to the new date. Tickets already distributed are automatically valid for the new date. Current ticketholders do not need to do anything.

MSC OPAS Executive Director Anne Black says, “While we are obviously disappointed by this news, we understand that these are the times we are in right now and we continue to remain flexible. The artists’ health and safety are of most importance.” Black continues, “We look forward to getting back together in Rudder in October with the rock n’ roll sounds of Broadway star Michael Cavanaugh.”

The remainder of the already announced 2021 fall programs will go on as scheduled. The 49th season will now open on October 20 with the concert starring Tony Award nominee Michael Cavanaugh performing the hits of Billy Joel and Elton John. To see the additional programs coming to Rudder this fall, please visit www.MSCOPAS.org.

The Broadway blockbuster musicals heading to the Brazos Valley as part of the MSC OPAS 49th season will be announced on September 15. That news will come with the announcement of an additional Intimate Gatherings performance for the spring of 2022 as well. Broadway ticket packages and single tickets will on sale on Monday, September 20 at the MSC Box Office at 9 a.m.

Media Contact:

Craig Boleman
[email protected]

MSC On the Frontline – Sandra Phillips Update

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Sandra Phillips volunteers for covid vaccine trial

Sandra is an ICU nurse in Denver, Colorado

On May 6, we featured Sandra Phillips in our MSC on the Frontline series. This series focused on former MSC students’ involvement opportunities as well as the leadership skills developed during time within the MSC.

In our update to this series, we feature a blog from Sandra and her parents as they personified selfless service and volunteered to be part of  the trial for the Covid vaccine.

MSC OPAS announces new virtual performance for re-imagined season

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Natalie Macmaster & Donnell Leahy’s A Celtic Family Christmas at Home Streaming Tuesday, December 8 through Thursday, December 31.

COLLEGE STATION, November 17, 2020 – Following the success of September’s streamed concert by The Choir of Man: Live from London, MSC OPAS announces its second foray into virtual presenting with a special concert by patron favorites Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy titled A Celtic Family Christmas at Home. The on-demand concert will be available for streaming from 12 midnight on Tuesday, December 8 through 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 31. The virtual concert is sponsored by Nikki Pederson Talent Network, Premier Properties and West, Webb, Allbritton & Gentry.

Streaming tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17 at the MSC Box Office (979-845-1234, www.MSCOPAS.org) and must be purchased by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, December 18. Tickets are $20 for a single stream and $30 for a group/family stream (patrons choosing to stream with more than one person). The MSC Box Office will provide the streaming code to the ticket buyer within one business day. Codes may be used at any time during the streaming window but cannot be shared or they will become obsolete.

MSC OPAS Executive Director Anne Black says, “We set the bar pretty high with The Choir of Man. The office was flooded with positive feedback after that September concert. As we approached identifying our next offering, we knew it had to have that personal connection. Natalie and Donnell are delivering that. Personally, I can’t wait to see their seven children perform as part of this special holiday concert!”

No strangers to MSC OPAS patrons, Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy played to sold out audiences in February 2005 with Leahy as part of MSC OPAS Season 32 and in October 2011 with Masters of the Fiddle as part of MSC OPAS Season 39.

The December 8 concert will be performed from the fiddling power couple’s Canadian home. MSC OPAS patrons can expect an hour-long performance as the MacMaster-Leahy family share music, culture, Christmas traditions and general ‘real life’ family dynamics. They will fiddle, dance, sing, bake, chat about favorite Christmas memories and, technology permitting, may even be joined virtually by their band.

Natalie explains further, “Given our children’s ages and personalities, there will be many candid moments along the way. I’ve heard it said that every disadvantage creates an opportunity. Well we have embraced this chance to perform for a crowd in such a unique way and are eagerly awaiting the moment you all show up at our front door, ready to welcome you home!”

With over half a million albums sold, Natalie and Donnell have amassed countless nominations and award wins — including but not limited to GRAMMY Award win and nomination, JUNO Award wins and eight nominations, 20 East Coast Music Association awards, and five Canadian Country Music Association’s “Fiddler of the Year” wins — as well as three honorary doctorates, an induction into the Casino Nova Scotia Hall of Fame, and a membership in the Order of Canada.

For information about A Celtic Family Christmas at Home, visit www.MSCOPAS.org. Ticketing details available at MSC Box Office (979-845-1234).

By Craig Boleman, MSC OPAS and Solo Shoe Creative

MSC On the Frontline – Rosa Hernandez

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Angelica Hernandez



ROSA HERNANDEZ

Urgent Care Nure, College Station, Texas

Angelica jumping in front of the golden gate bridge.

What was your involvement in the MSC?

I was part of the MSC CAMAC - A Latinx Programming Committe and member of the MSC SCOLA - Student Conference on Latinx Affairs executive team.

What does a day in your life look like currently?

My everyday life and routine has changed dramatically over the last two months. I work as a nurse at an urgent care and my days start early around 7 a.m.. It’s important for me to allocate time to get ready, eat breakfast, get a good morning stretch and mentally prepare for another 12 hour shift. Music is an essential component to lift my spirits and overall mood for the day. Once I’m at work, I complete my morning duties, prepare my PPE for the day and briefly connect and catch up with my co-workers. It’s always important to connect and allow for normalcy to still linger among my coworker family and work environment. We share a good story, relay some good news, and I always try to amp up the funny meter by saying something funny and witty to get them to smile. I sometimes get the “It’s too early Rosa” as they try to hide their smiles from me. If I get one of my co-workers to smile, then that is a win for the day. From there its go time, rain or shine. With COVID invading our communities around the world, many are scared and concerned with the possibility of contracting the virus. Our facility is one of the few clinics to offer both the PCR COVID test and also the antigen COVID test. With that said first half of my day is seeing 15 patients every hour on the hour for antigen testing. The skill of multitasking is an absolute must, as our normal urgent care services are still being provided. We are also performing the PCR COVID test which can take some time to complete as infection control is reinforced. Balancing the elements of good ol’ Texas humidity and heat only add a pzazz to the already exhausting day. I leave my shift around 8:30 p.m., sometimes closer to 9 p.m. I head home to then sashay out my scrubs, remove and wipe everything all outside my home. All clothes are immediately washed and I proceed to scrub clean into the shower. I try to unwind and then off to bed early and repeat all over again the next day.

The MSC helps build leaders by providing opportunities to improve skills such as critical thinking, active listening, giving and receiving feedback, and others. What skills did you gain in your involvement with the MSC and how did your time as a student leader prepare you for your role during this challenging and unforeseen time?

Reminiscing on past events, presentations and programs during my time with MSC SCOLA, I realize that the ones that instilled the most growth where the ones that strayed from the original plan. These detours allowed us as a team to rethink, regroup and reproach the end goal with a different perspective. When things don’t go as planned, it shines light on areas that required improvement and those are experiences I still draw on today. My time at Texas A&M allowed me to walk away with the ability to acknowledge when something is and isn’t working and be willing to accept that and adjust course.

If you were to return to your time in the MSC, what skills would you personally focus on strengthening, especially in your current situation?

If I could, I would work on strengthening my decisiveness most. More and more, we are being asked to make decisions with less and less time for consideration and consultation. I've never been a particularly decisive person so this has challenged me, especially with the acuity of cases that keep presenting to our inpatient wards.

The MSC core values are Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, Service and Diversity. What core value best describes the work you do today?

Integrity is the core value that best represents my work on the frontline. I firmly believe that if you interlace integrity in everything you do, then the quality of respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, service and diversity will outlast any circumstance. We did not choose the circumstances we are currently in nor where we prepared for how it would affect us all. One thing that is for sure is that we still have control of how we can act and react to the given circumstance. We have the choice to be compassionate, caring, prudent but above all honest and unvarying moral. Doing the right thing in a time where there is much left to the unknown, we must never allow for our moral compass to waver.

What is one of your favorite memories from being involved in the MSC?

There are so many favorite memories but coming together as a committee was always fun! We always tried to have food and snacks at our meetings. I remember one time we all brought pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) and had hot chocolate as we hand painted our MSC CAMAC shirts for an event. Always laughing at every meeting and we kept the fun in everything we did as a team.

What else would you like to share about the MSC?

Thank you for the opportunity to share my personal experience and for all the other frontline workers. Thanks and Gig'Em!

MSC On the Front Line – Brent Lacey

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MSC ON THE FRONTLINES logo
Brent Lacey and family.



BRENT LACEY

Gastroenterologist, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina

What was your involvement in the MSC?

Chief Operating Officer 2004-2005, EVP Leadership Development and Service 2003-2004, MSC ALOT Group Leader 2002-2003, MSC ALOT member 2001-2002

What does a day in your life look like currently?

As the sole gastroenterologist at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, I'm charged with leading the GI department and making sure that we are always available to handle any GI emergency for our region. I'm proud that we've been able to do this with fewer personnel and more limited resources. We have had to dramatically change our clinical practice model due to the social distancing requirements for COVID-19. We've gone to a nearly 100% telemedicine model for outpatient visits, trying to maintain contact with our patients without exposing them to the risks of the coronavirus. It has been especially challenging since a lot of our hospital staff are deployed to other parts of the country helping the relief effort in some of the coronavirus "hot spots."

The MSC helps build leaders by providing opportunities to improve skills such as critical thinking, active listening, giving and receiving feedback, and others. What skills did you gain in your involvement with the MSC and how did your time as a student leader prepare you for your role during this challenging and unforeseen time?

Through my MSC experiences, I learned that the best plans don't always win. Often, the plans that succeed are those that are able to adapt to a rapidly changing situation. While it's important to plan strategically, it's equally important to be able to change that plan in a moment's notice if the situation changes. It's also critically important to create a team culture that is adaptable and cohesive. If you wait until a crisis arises to work on your team culture, you waited too long. My team has been able to adapt and overcome because we've spent a long time training together, learning together, and becoming a more cohesive unit. It requires leadership to achieve that, and that starts long before any crisis arises.

If you were to return to your time in the MSC, what skills would you personally focus on strengthening, especially in your current situation?

I would focus on delegating. That was one of the hardest things for me to learn. I tend to want to take on all challenges myself and not pawn work off on others. What I've come to learn in the last 15 years is that I'm not always the best suited to handle a particular task, so by not delegating the task I may be limiting the success of the team. Also, failure to delegate prevents the personal growth and development of my team members. Being able to delegate to trusted team members in the current situation is invaluable.

The MSC core values are Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, Service and Diversity. What core value best describes the work you do today?

Each of the core values are important. I can't think how I would even choose one. Imagine a wheel with seven spokes representing each of the seven core values. If one was missing, you'd have a misshapen, non-functional wheel. You can't function without all of them. You can't even be weak in one of them. You have to have them all.

What is one of your favorite memories from being involved in the MSC?

During my junior year, I was part of the core team tasked with designing a new organizational structure for the MSC Council. It was an amazing experience to be a part of constructing a strategic vision for such a large and complex organization. That structure lasted for 10 more years, which is quite a legacy.

What else would you like to share about the MSC?

If anyone is serious about being a leader in their future industry, get involved and stay involved in the MSC! My time there was formative in a way that I couldn't get any other way. I'm a great physician by virtue of my medical training, but all of my business leadership skills came from my time in the MSC. Thank you to the MSC staff and students that spent so much of their time and energy training me to be a leader. I'll never forget it!

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