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Keith Chambers is an American conductor and opera administrator and a prominent opera coach. He has conducted and worked at opera houses including The Dallas Opera, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera New Jersey, Lake George Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, American Lyric Theater, Connecticut Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Saratoga, Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Amarillo Opera, and American Opera Projects.
Early years[]
Born in Canton, Ohio, Chambers was raised in th Columbus suburb of Reynoldsburg, where he was valedictorian of his senior class. He received Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of Miami under the tutelage of noted concert pianist Ivan Davis and completed doctoral studies in music at the Moores School of Music at University of Houston.
Career[]
The 2014-15 season features his conducting debut at The Dallas Opera, leading student performances of L’elisir d’amore and the Dallas Opera Family Concerts. Also at The Dallas Opera he serves as Assistant Conductor for Salome with Deborah Voigt and assists Emmanuel Villaume for productions of Le nozze di Figaro and Iolanta. Mr. Chambers joins Opera Saratoga as Chorus Master for their summer festival and conducts Handel’s Radamisto for Manhattan Opera Studio.
Mr. Chambers began the 2013-14 season as assistant to Emmanuel Villaume for The Dallas Opera’s production of Carmen.[1] In New York City, he debuted with the PROTOTYPE Festival l for Gregory Spears’ Paul’s Case[2] and he conducts concert performances of La bohème at Carnegie Hall and Der Rosenkavalier at the National Opera Center. He returns to Fort Worth Opera in March as an Official Pianist for the McCammon Competition.
Highlights of the 2012-13 season included leading performances of Un giorno di regno for the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program,[3] conducting the workshop premiere of The Turing Project as part of American Lyric Theater’s critically acclaimed InsightALT Festival in New York City.[4] During the 2011-12 season, he conducted The Poe Project for American Lyric Theater as part of Opera America's New Works Forum, made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting Die Zauberflöte, led Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci for New York Lyric Opera, and Nora, In The Great Outdoors for American Opera Projects at Lincoln Center. Mr. Chambers also conducted Tosca and Cavalleria rusticana for Martha Cardona Opera Theater and appeared with Kirsten Chambers in recital for Opera Saratoga.
The 2010-11 season began with Ariadne auf Naxos at Toledo Opera and continued with leading a production of Gianni Schicchi for the Martha Cardona Opera Theater in New York City. He made his debut conducting performances for New York Lyric Opera (Le nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, Hansel & Gretel). For Opera Saratoga, he led a gala performance of Tosca and served as Music Director & Pianist for premieres of three new operas at Symphony Space in New York City as part of American Lyric Theater's Adam and Eve project. Mr. Chambers began the 2009-10 season with Falstaff at Toledo Opera and continued with Carmen at Opera New Jersey in February. Mr. Chambers began a regular association with Seattle Opera in March with a production of Ariadne auf Naxos and serving as guest faculty for the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program. In 2008-09, Mr. Chambers conducted performances of Roméo et Juliette for Asheville Lyric Opera[5] in October and continued with Rigoletto at Toledo Opera. Lake George Opera re-engaged Mr. Chambers for another joint solo piano and voice recital with soprano Kirsten Chambers at Northwestern State University. He conducted The Station for the inaugural performances of Sugar Land Opera and concluded the season conducting Tosca for Amarillo Opera.
Mr. Chambers began the 2007-08 season at New York City Opera with productions of Don Giovanni, Agrippina, and Vanessa. After a debut for Lake George Opera with soprano Kirsten Chambers in a series of joint solo piano and voice recitals, Mr. Chambers returned to New York City Opera for productions of King Arthur and Tosca and to Toledo Opera for Cavalleria rusticana. After serving as pianist for the Opera Gala for Amarillo Opera, he began his tenure as Music Director for the Connecticut Opera Young Artist Program.
The 2006-07 season included his debut with The Living Opera, conducting Le nozze di Figaro, Don Pasquale, Hansel & Gretel, and The Pirates of Penzance. He conducted Bizet's Docteur Miracle for Oklahoma Opera Theater and Giulio Cesare with Halifax Summer Opera Festival. In earlier seasons, he conducted La finta giardiniera and Die Fledermaus for the Moores Opera Center and Don Giovanni and L'elisir d'amore for Opera in the Ozarks.
Administrative positions[]
Chambers has held a number of administrative positions for opera companies. These include Artistic Director of The Living Opera, Director of the Victoria J. Mastrobuono Emerging Artist Program for Opera New Jersey, Head of Music Staff for Opera New Jersey, Principal Conductor and Casting Consultant for New York Lyric Opera, and Chorus Master/Music Director of Shreveport Opera.[6]
Concert pianist[]
Keith Chambers has appeared in concert in the United States, Canada, Europe, and South America as a concert pianist. He is a prizewinner in numerous competitions including the International Bartok-Kabalevsky Piano Competition, Corpus Christi International Young Artists Competition, Josef Hofmann Piano Competition, International Chopin Competition of Texas, the Grand Prix Chopin Piano Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Sixth American National Chopin Competition in 2000. Mr. Chambers has appeared as concerto soloist with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Clear Lake Symphony, and Naples Philharmonic, with conductors Erich Kunzel and Maurice Peress. A protégé of pianist Ivan Davis, he has been a featured guest artist at the Chopin Festival at the Catholic University in Peru, Capital University (OH), and the Chopin Foundation of Miami. He has also studied extensively with Nancy Weems and Peter Takacs.
Teaching[]
Academic work includes posts at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, and The University of Oklahoma. He has served on the faculty of the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program and the RESONANZ Festival and has presented Masterclasses for the University of Tennessee, University of Miami, Opera Manhattan, University of Memphis, East Tennessee State University, New York Lyric Opera, and Opera on Tap Dallas.
Personal[]
Chambers is based in New York City and married to soprano Kirsten Chambers
References[]
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External links[]
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- ↑ Template:Cite web
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- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/arts/music/insightalt-a-festival-of-operas-in-progress.html?_r=0
- ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ www.keith-chambers.com