Mary Kopco
Executive Director
Mary A. Kopco was born in Montana, raised in Virginia, and spent the last 20 years in South Dakota. She grew up in a home filled with the sounds of symphony, jazz, big band, folk, rock, and opera. She distinctly remembers sitting by the record player as a three-year-old listening with wonderment to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Music has been and continues to be her greatest inspiration and teacher.
Mary earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Emory and Henry College and a Master of Arts in history from James Madison University in Virginia. Her life’s work has been devoted to helping keep the arts and humanities alive, accessible, and relevant. In 1995, she was hired as the director of the Black Hills of South Dakota’s oldest history museum. Over the next 19 years, she transformed the organization into a major cultural institution now known as Deadwood History, Inc. An essential part of her vision was to include musical programming as a means of better understanding Black Hills history. Mary and her husband Paul, a professional musician and retired university teacher, moved to Fort Collins in 2014.
Kopco is committed to building upon the work of her predecessors to expand the Fort Collins Symphony’s influence as the region’s leading musical arts organization. She is excited to work together with the Northern Colorado community to provide the necessary resources for Maestro Wes Kenney and the Fort Collins Symphony to continue being the shining stars that they are.
