HGO Spotlight on: Director of Finance Jeremy Patfield

Jeremy Patfield is a negotiator and a fixer. “I’m a middle child,” he says, “so I've had a lifetime of negotiating—the middle child pulling everybody together and trying to keep everyone happy.” He’s also a musician, having played piano, clarinet, and saxophone from the time he was a child.

Born in London to British parents, Jeremy grew up mostly in Arizona, where he joined band in high school before going on to study jazz performance and saxophone at the University of Arizona. After graduating, he moved to California to pursue a career in music but, seeking a more stable path, took an administrative position with San Francisco Opera.

He ended up getting bitten by the opera bug and staying at SFO for 16 years in multiple positions, eventually rising to Director of Production Operations, responsible for overseeing budgets, crew payroll, and all the many duties of supporting the company’s Production department.

Earlier this year, Jeremy took everything he’s learned and brought it to HGO as our Director of Finance. And from those early days at SFO until now, he always sought the same thing: to be “somebody that people feel comfortable coming to if they don't know who to go to with a question or problem.” He tries to answer those questions and solve those problems, so nothing gets in the way of the art.

Here’s Jeremy on his life and career, in his own words: 

As HGO’s Director of Finance, my job is to manage the Finance, Payroll, and Human Resources teams, and lead the company budgeting process. I try to take care of my teams so they can keep everything running smoothly, whether that’s paying everyone on time, processing benefits, or providing information to other departments for good decision-making.

I grew up in Arizona playing in band and orchestra and continued doing that throughout high school. I pursued music in college and, after graduating, played professionally in California for a few years. And what I realized was, to succeed in that way, you have to be an entrepreneur. You basically have to run your own business. I have tons of friends who are professional musicians, and they have my absolute respect because it's such a tough gig. I eventually determined I'm more of a planner. I wanted to find a way to help support people in a more predictable environment. I saw that San Francisco Opera had an opening for an Administrative Assistant in their production department, applied, and got the position.

I didn't end up in opera because of a grand plan, but I have been completely smitten by it over the last 16 years. Working at SFO, I got to wear a lot of hats. After my first few years, SFO started exploring commercial media projects, and I took a position as the company’s new Media Administrator. That role gave me a lot of exposure to rights administration and contracting. I also managed the media department budget until SFO moved away from commercial media. Then I became Director of Production Operations, overseeing the department’s full budget, crew schedule, payroll, invoicing, and all aspects of business and operations. Little by little, my career ended up pointing me in this direction.

I think of my current position as Director of Finance in the same way I approached my work at SFO. My role was to support everybody in the department by helping them get the resources they needed. I would say the most exhilarating and the most nerve-wracking thing about working in production is that you have these totally immovable deadlines. Opening night is going to be opening night; no matter how ready you are, it's coming. Working in that environment teaches you a lot about preparation, planning ahead, and always being ready to change course. It teaches you so much about how to allocate your time effectively and efficiently. It forces you to accept the reality of the situation you're in, and adapt to those circumstances. All of those lessons have been so useful in my current role.

My first opera was Aida, and I was totally hooked. Like, immediately. And then, I really fell in love with the compelling force behind the scenes, too. Opera is the most incredible array of different types of people, different backgrounds, and specialties. I discovered it was this group of people that I'd been looking for my whole life. There are so many personalities, and different roads that lead people here. The theater is a place where people can come together and share something, and that’s true behind the scenes as much as it is for the audience. Together, the whole company charges toward opening night, and then winter rep, and then on and on throughout the season. There are so many things that have to happen and line up. I love being able to contribute to that, learn from it, and make sure people have what they need so that they can all focus on their roles.

My favorite opera I’ve seen at HGO so far is Silent Night. I didn't know anything about it, and I’d never heard anything from the composer. I thought that piece was absolutely stunning, musically and narratively. The way that the production moved and worked was so smart. The chorus always sounds absolutely amazing at HGO, and they were wonderful in that piece.

Since arriving in Houston, I’ve been impressed by all the ways that HGO is engaging with the city, meeting people where they are and making the front door to the opera house as big and open as possible. I think a lot of companies are thinking about that, but HGO is right at the front of actually doing it. Doing musicals here in the theater, Family Day, getting out into the community—it’s so critical. You never know who opera’s going to click for, who it's going to resonate with, and change their life. So the more ways you can find to meet people or to get them here, you have to do that. And I think HGO is crushing it. 

When I am not at the office, I play tennis. It was kind of a later-in-life hobby that I picked up. I've been trying to get out and explore as much of the city as can. I also like to cook. Trying to balance healthy eating with all of the amazing food temptations out there has been hard.

Getting to work in an opera company, I love that you can get in the elevator every day, and you don't know if you're going to be riding with somebody in a tuxedo holding a violin, somebody in show blacks holding a hammer, or somebody dressed as a Roman centurion, holding a sword and shield. The fact that all those different specialties come together to make something happen every night is endlessly fascinating and joyful for me. And I get to be a part of that.