Sue Elliott

One of North America’s most innovative arts leaders, Sue Elliott has revolutionized the cultural service that performing and visual arts organizations provide. Through locally-relevant and internationally-renowned work that increases revenue and builds public value, hundreds of thousands of people have engaged in traditional and non-traditional performances and programs.

Sue comes to Calgary Opera from Norman Rockwell Museum, where she transformed the ways in which the Museum connects with and engages its audiences, online and in person, as its first-ever Chief Audience Officer.

Prior to joining NRM, Sue was inaugural Director of the Boston Symphony's Tanglewood Learning Institute and the Linde Center for Music and Learning. Through in-person and online programming, TLI refreshed the BSO’s relationship with loyal audiences while diversifying programming to engage new participants. Under her artistic direction, TLI featured Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Tom Stoppard, Madeleine K. Albright, Tony Kushner, Joy Harjo, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bill T. Jones, and hundreds of other artists and scholars. She also developed collaborations with organizations including Martha Graham Dance Company, the Lobkowicz Collections, Jacob's Pillow, and Berkshire International Film Festival.

Sue led the world’s first online professional development, certificate, and accreditation program for private teachers at all stages of their careers at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Through this community of practice, thousands of teachers from around the world now call the Conservatory their partner in lifelong learning.

At Seattle Opera, Sue redesigned the company’s programs, tripled annual events and participants, increased revenues, and established the case for their new headquarters. She commissioned its first community-inspired new work, An American Dream, and the Our Earth trilogy for schools and families. Sue also produced the company’s most profitable Ring Cycle Festival. A popular music lecturer at home and abroad, she co-hosted Saturday Night Opera on Classical King FM and served on the advisory boards of ArtsEd Washington, University of Washington School of Music, King FM, Seattle Science Festival, and OPERA America.

Prior to her tenure in the Pacific Northwest, Sue spent 10 years at Houston Grand Opera. There, she created the award-winning Song of Houston initiative, pairing commissions from Christopher Theofanidis, Huang Ruo, Jake Heggie, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh, and Jose “Pepe” Martínez with groundbreaking education and community projects. Through its 20+ new works—including The Refuge; Now & Then: the blues; the East + West chamber opera series; and the world’s first mariachi opera—Song of Houston has engaged more than 100 organizations and 500,000 people. Sue started at HGO as a stage manager, having served in that capacity at the Canadian Opera Company, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. She was the first Canadian recipient of an OPERA America fellowship in Production and Stage Management.

An accomplished clarinetist and pianist, Sue holds a Master of Music Performance degree from the University of Southern California, an Artist Diploma from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Music Performance degree from McGill University, alongside certificates from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Social Impact Strategy.