Artistic Director

Brian Asher Alhadeff

It's an incredible honor both as a conductor, and as a native Southern Californian to join the great tradition of Opera San Luis Obispo. Nestled right in-between the two largest cities in California (San Francisco and Los Angeles), in the heart of wine country, footsteps from some of the most beautiful beaches and mountain ranges, San Luis Obispo is the perfect setting for opera – far away from traffic and busy big city life. San Luis Obispo is truly a magical place where the performing arts thrive. My interests lie in expanding the boundaries of opera in schools while reaching out to new opera audiences.

Our 2011-2012 season will be the most thrilling yet! I October we will bring you a rare gem production of Gilbert and Sullivan's 'The Yeomen of the Guard', then OperaSLO will open 2012 with a series of extravagant Opera Salon Dinner Concerts featuring some of California's top opera talent, and finally, in keeping with OperaSLO's strong partnerships in education, in March we will present an exciting collaboration with Cal Poly Opera featuring some of the most loved opera scenes and a complete performance of Puccini's opera miniature Suor Angelica.

In July of 2011, Brian Asher Alhadeff was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of Opera San Luis Obispo. Prior to that, he served in a part-time capacity as Associate Conductor for two years. Brian Asher Alhadeff is an internationally recognized opera, ballet, and symphonic, conductor. In the Czech Republic, he was Artistic Director and founder of the Hradec Kralove International Summer Opera Festival that partnered with the Eastern Bohemian Philharmonic and the Czech State Opera and Ballet. He has also served as Associate Conductor of the Beverly Hills Symphony, Music Director for the Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco, California State University Los Angeles Opera Theater, and Grand Valley State University (MI) Opera, Ballet and Musical Theater.

Alhadeff is also Principal Conductor for BRAVA Ballet Arts. He has served as Principal Conductor for Ballet Tucson, guest conducted for Tulsa Ballet, in addition to working extensively with California Riverside Ballet and Long Beach Ballet. Guest conducting engagements have included Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, Karlove Vary Sinfonie, UCLA Opera Program, New Valley Symphony, South Florida Opera Company, Eastern Sierra Symphony, Bourgas State Opera, Rio Hondo Symphony, and Long Beach Opera. In 2010, Alhadeff guest conducted the Albanian National Radio and Television Orchestra in a nation-wide broadcast that included the Albanian premiere of American composer Howard Hanson's second symphony The Romantic.

In addition to conducting, Alhadeff is in demand as a pianist, lecturer and arts presenter throughout the United States and abroad. He focuses on inspiring people of all ages and backgrounds in an original, dynamic style of performance technology, seamlessly integrated with multimedia and live performance. He has served on the vocal and conducting faculty for Symphonic Workshops LTD International Opera Workshops, and as a university professor, he has served on the faculty of La Sierra University (CA), and Grand Valley State University (MI).

Brian Asher Alhadeff studied conducting at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and the Janáček Academy in Brno, Czech Republic. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles), a Masters of Music from California State University of Los Angeles, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from UCLA. Off the stage, Brian enjoys tennis, mountain biking, and gardening. He loves nature, hiking, and animals – especially his big teddy bear German Shepherd, Max.

Learn more about Brian at www.brianalhadeff.com and http://www.youtube.com/user/maestroalhadeff