Corinta Nirvana Ciano Kotula

1928 - 2020

Corinta Nirvana Ciano Kotula passed away on November 2, 2019. Born on June 15, 1928, Corinta had a full, exciting, and successful life which she lived with incredible energy and with her wonderful spirit that she shared with all, and in all she did.Corinta was born to a family dedicated to the support and performance of the arts, Corinta sang in her first choir at the age of five at the Congregational Church of Linden, Malden, Massachusetts. In the Boston area, she became a professional church soloist, chorister, recitalist and opera singer. Corinta was premier ballerina at the Geraldine Paré Ballet Company. She studied drama and elocution under the direction of Doris Bramson Whitehouse of Boston. As member of the Professional Women's club, when invited she presented dramatic readings and recitals along the Eastern Seaboard. She was a member of the Order of The Eastern Star/ Masonic Order. Corinta received an Associates Degree from The Leland Powers School of Radio and Television. She attended Manhattanville College and studied Political Science and the full curriculum of the study of Music. Corinta also studied Philosophy at NY University-Special Program.In New York, Corinta studied voice with famed opera singer and teacher Crystal Waters and with Professor C.Waldemar Alves of Leipzig, Germany. She also studied drama and dance attending the Modern School of Dance and the Herbert Berghoff Studio of Drama. Corinta was a member of The Provincetown Players group and as a member of the Collegiate Chorale, NY, directed by Ralph Hunter, she sang under the direction of Leonard Bernstein, Erich Leinsdorf, William Steinberg, and other international conductors. Corinta performed leading roles in opera in the Northeast and as a student, in Italy. Corinta was a member of the Concert Choir Sunday Series of the Riverside Church of New York. She also sang with the Greenwich Choral Society under the direction of John Nelson. In Italy, at the Pantheon Plaza she was requested to assist tenor Antonio Scossi and sang favorite arias from the Italian repertoire. On the island of Elba, Italy, Corinta sang daily at the Meeting House. Corinta was a member of The First Presbyterian Church of Greenwich and a choir member. In the early years she composed a Kyrie, Arias, and Introits, and songs, which were presented at the Schubert Club. The Kyrie was first presented at FPCG and then by Minister of Music, Lowell Lacey at The First Congregational Church of Greenwich. Corinta enjoyed that aspect immensely.The Kotula family has resided in Greenwich since 1964. Corinta joined the Greenwich Philharmonia Guild in 1978 and was invited to serve on the Philharmonia Board in 1980, in 1983 quondam The Greenwich Symphony. Corinta was a Vice President and was the Chairman of Corporate Contributions since 1980. Her late husband, Stine Kotula prepared the early programs for the GSO and was an ardent supporter.Corinta developed a dual career in business and performance. In business she worked inResearch and Development of the Fuller, Smith & Ross Advertising Agency; was Administrator to Chairman of the board of The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research; Corporate Secretary of The Kotula Company; Vice President of the American Salvage Company; General Manager of the Connecticut Chamber Orchestra; Proprietor of Casa Ciano Imports; Executive Director of The Newspaper Features Council, a National Organization: As Executive Director of The Newspaper Features Council, Corinta had the pleasure of inviting Hilary Clinton to be key-note speaker to a national meeting of newspaper editors held in Washington, D.C. In the Newspaper Industry, Corinta was a member of the National Cartoonist's Society. Corinta also organized tours for American artists to perform in Italy, and conversely Italian artists to perform here. Notably, Giovanni Sollima, Cellist and now esteemed Professor of Santa Cecilia di Roma, who performed brilliantly with the Greenwich Symphony in 1986.When Corinta was Executive Director of The Newspaper Features Council, she suggested the performance of ""The Peanuts Gallery Piano Concerto"" to be performed on behalf of Greenwich, CT's Young People's Concerts. Corinta made all the arrangements for the piece, composed by Ellen Taffee Zwillich, to be performed and for Snoopy, from the Charles Schulz Peanuts Strip, to come to Greenwich in 1998 and in 2003 and perform the samba in the third movement. When the children were asked which music program they liked the best, they voted for ""Snoopy!""Some of Corinta's past affiliations were: Member of the Professional Women's Club, Chairman of The Rondo Music Society, General Manager of The Connecticut Chamber Orchestra, Vice President of Public Affairs, Gateway Classical Music Society; Performer and Officer, The Amato Opera Theatre; Board Member & President of The Sally Amato Opera Guild; Carl Yost Meistersingers, Mendelsohn Club, Schubert Club of Fairfield County and Member of the Greenwich Symphony Guild. Corinta Co-Chaired the 1979 Greenwich Symphony Benefit, Co-Chaired the GSO Soiree in 2007, Chaired the GSO Soiree in 2008, and Co-Chaired the GSO Soiree in 2009. Corinta was a Life Member of San Giovanni al Mare (Music Festival) Gaeta, Italy; Life Member of Soni Ventorum, Palermo, Sicily; and Member of the British Arts Society of Berlin, Germany.Corinta is greatly missed, and she is survived by her three sons, Antek Stanislaw Kotula, Andro Stine Kotula and Arno Ciano Kotula, four grandchildren and numerous family members in the US and Italy. A memorial event, to happen in Greenwich, CT, is planned and a public announcement regarding the event will be published as its time draws near.