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What Does Success Look Like to You? – Ralph Opacic - Industry Elites

Ralph Opacic founded the Orange County School of the Arts in 1987 and led it as executive director and president for more than three decades. He now serves as CEO of Orange County Music & Dance, an Irvine-based nonprofit, where he is building out programming that runs from early childhood classes through adult courses.

“For me, success is about whether something outlasts you. Anyone can start a program. The real test is whether it still matters ten or twenty years later, whether it's still changing lives after you've moved on to something else.”

Brainz Magazine

Ralph Opacic: Building Arts Institutions from the Ground Up

Ralph Opacic started as a choral and vocal music teacher at Los Alamitos High School in 1983, later founding the West Coast Musical Theatre Company in 1984 and the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in 1987. He led OCSA and its foundation as president and executive director from 1987 to 2021, growing it into one of the top-ranked arts high schools in the country.