News

November 14, 2007                                                                                08-04
For Immediate Release

Calgary Opera welcomes Gordon Gerrard as Repetiteur and Conductor-in-Residence

Calgary, AB… Calgary Opera is pleased to welcome Gordon Gerrard as Repetiteur and Conductor-in-Residence commencing November 19, 2007.

“We are absolutely thrilled to have been able to attract an artist of the highest calibre to our company on a full-time basis for this newly created position,” says Calgary Opera General Director and CEO W.R. (Bob) McPhee.  “This is another step forward for us in our role as a leader in the development of Canadian talent, this time in the area of conducting for opera. Gordon will fill the role of Repetiteur for all of our mainstage productions and act as Assistant Conductor on selected programs. As well he will be a Vocal Coach and Music Director for our Emerging Artist Development Program. We know that Gordon will not only be a great asset to our company but also to the community at large.”

A graduate of the respected vocal accompanying program at Manhattan School of Music, Gordon Gerrard maintains a busy schedule as a recital partner, vocal coach and conductor. Currently on faculty at Iowa State University, Gordon is heard frequently in recital, and is equally at home with both opera and art song literature. Gordon has served as a conductor for Opera Nuova (Edmonton) since 2001, and most recently conducted The Bartered Bride there. Other conducting credits include Die Zauberflöte with the European Music Academy in the Czech Republic, as well as assistant conductor for Opera Lyra Ottawa’s productions of Otello and Don Giovanni. Gordon has also served as conductor for several productions for the Opera Project in Winnipeg and Vancouver. When not performing, Gordon works as a vocal coach, and has held the positions of repetiteur for Vancouver Opera, Associate Music Director of the Manhattan School of Music Undergraduate Opera Studio, as well as Chorus Master for that school's productions of Die Zauberflöte and Madama Butterfly. Recently, Gordon served as staff pianist for the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute in Montreal. As a recitalist, Gordon was awarded a fellowship with the New Triad Foundation's Art Song Seminar, and presented recitals for that organization throughout New York City. In the fall of 2005, Gordon was invited to attend a series of masterclasses with Elly Ameling and Rudolf Jansen at the Académie musicale de Villecroze, in France.

Calgary Opera is grateful for funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, which has made this position possible.

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For further information, please contact: Brian O'Neill, Calgary Opera 802-3409, or boneill@calgaryopera.com.