Opera
Music Director/Principal Conductor, Moores Opera Center, University of Houston, Houston, Texas; visiting associate professor of music
- Co-initiated the original endowment ($1.5m) for the Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center
- 67 fully-staged productions; 250+ performances
- Originated and administered the Opera Discovery Project (Opera America Newline, Feb/2001), supported by a $50k annual grant from the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, for commissioning new opera and encouraging second or third productions of neglected premieres; including The Dangerous Liaisons (Susa/Littell), The Ghosts of Versailles (Corigliano/Hoffman; 2 productions), Thirteen Clocks (Theofanides/Webster; commission and world premiere), Casanova’s Homecoming (Argento; Newport Classic CD release), Ms. Havisham’Fire (Argento/Dickens), The Wedding (Bolcom/Altman), Flight (Dove/de Angelis; American premiere), A Room with a View (Nelson/Ross-E.M. Forster; world premiere and second production for Newport Classic DVD release)
- Founder of the Mexican Young Artist Initiative providing scholarship assistance to singers and instrumentalists; funded 3 full 4-year and 6 partial grants since inception ($181k); one of the first Initiative grant recipients recently won 2nd prize in NBC’s 5th season of America’s Got Talent
- Coordinated and conducted multiple gala aria/ensemble/orchestra and chorus performance/fund raisers in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute and the Consul General of Mexico
- In collaboration with Bärenreiter Verlag’s Berlioz Critical Edition (2007), translated and re-orchestrated the accompanied recitatives composed by Berlioz (1856) for Weber’s Der Freischütz
- Annual guest speaker/lecturer on opera and music at the Italian Cultural Institute
- Table host and conversationalist for The Great Conversation, presented annually by the Honors College, University of Houston
- Regular guest on opera for KUHF public radio’s The Front Row and contributor to the Moores Society Newsletter for patrons
Guest Conductor
- Astrakhan National Theatre (Russia)
- Music Director Opera Ft. Collins (Colorado summer festival); 8 productions; 32 performances
- Assistant Conductor/Coach, International Opera Studio, Zürich, Switzerland
- Assistant Conductor/Coach, American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), Graz, Austria
- Assistant Coach, Staatsoper Studio, Vienna, Austria
Orchestral
Artistic Director/Principal Conductor, OrchestraX
- Developed pilot programs 1) to expand and educate new audiences by rethinking the context for presenting classical music and creating diverse aural/visual experiences, either in often non-traditional venues or through creative distribution networks, such as MTV Networks, internet pod casts, etc.; 2) to invest ownership in virtuosic ensemble playing for orchestral musicians through solid repertoire building, encouraging experimentation, offering quality rehearsal, performance and audition praxis, and providing financial assistance for further study or independent professional growth; and, 3) to nurture and encourage young listeners through visually and musically exciting school programs accessed via CD, DVD and internet platforms
- Produced the Newport Classic DVD, PDQ Bach in Houston: We have a Problem; which has sold over 3,000 copies to date; available at Amazon.com, Netflix
- Guest appearances with regional orchestras as conductor and performer
Other/Administrative
- Founded a San Francisco-based arts management, promotion and board development company for regional non-profits, including Pocket Opera, the California Bach Society and the Van Ness Arts Space Project
- Extensive executive and entrepreneurial business experience in administering treasury banking services, financial data processing, and petroleum exploration and alternative energy resources
Training/Education
- Diplom (Orchestra/Opera)—Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna, Austria
- BM (magna cum laude)—University of Wyoming
- Interim Studies—Cleveland Institute of Music (Victor Babin, Arthur Loesser); Aspen School of Music (Adele Marcus)