CoastalVirginiaMag.com
By Chelsea Sherman
March 1, 2026
From a young age, new Virginia Opera director of development Jacquelyn VandenPlas was enthralled with music and the arts.
“I’ve always been in love with music,” VandenPlas said. “When I was about 5 years old, my mother played an Ella Fitzgerald record for me. I immediately fell in love with jazz music, and to this day, Ella Fitzgerald is my favorite artist. I distinctly remember feeling the music and thinking that she wasn’t just singing notes but singing from her heart. I knew from a young age that I wanted to do that.”
VandenPlas started piano lessons shortly after hearing that record. She would later expand her musical prowess into singing, eventually ending up at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in vocal performance.
After college, VandenPlas took her musical talents to the education sector, where she taught piano and vocals and directed choir.
VandenPlas’s husband is in the military, which has taken them all over the country the past 16 years. They have lived in several states, including New York, South Carolina, and most recently Hawaii.