GAZELLE MAGAZINE JUNE/JULY 2016 | Page 83

Noémi K. Neidorff  Chairman Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Board of Directors   N oémi K. Neidorff is known locally and nationally as an arts leader and philanthropist. For the past three decades, she and her husband, Michael, CEO of the Centene Corporation, have been supporters of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In October 2015, Noémi was unanimously elected chairman of the board of directors, becoming only the eighth person to serve as chairman during the company’s 40-year history. A classically trained pianist, she holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, and was deeply involved in Opera Theatre’s successful $11 million building for opera campaign, resulting in the construction of the company’s administrative and rehearsal h ome, the Sally S. Levy Opera Center. Outside St. Louis, she serves as a trustee of the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and on the board of the Manhattan School of Music. In 2014, the Neidorffs were honored by OPERA America in New York City with the National Trustees Recognition Award.   A native of Budapest, Hungary, at 8 years old, Noémi and her parents were forced to leave their home and friends to escape the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Disguising themselves and carrying a few belongings in two knapsacks, they crossed the Austrian border on foot, immigrating to the United States in 1957.   As a child, opera and music were an integral part of Noémi’s and her family’s life, as it remains through her involvement with institutions like Opera Theatre.   SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY 81