Grant Gershon Extends Contract as LA Opera's Resident Conductor Through June 2017

General Director Plácido Domingo announced today that Grant Gershon has renewed his contract at LA Opera's Resident Conductor, effective through June of 2017.

"I could not be happier with Grant's extraordinary work in Los Angeles," said Mr. Domingo. "He is a superb and insightful conductor who has led some of our most unforgettable productions. His exemplary work with the LA Opera Chorus over the past seven seasons has made our chorus, without question, equal to that of the finest opera houses in the world. We are fortunate to have a musician of his caliber as a colleague and friend, and I am thrilled that we will be able to continue our remarkable partnership well into the future."

"I'm delighted to continue working closely with Plácido Domingo and James Conlon in this capacity" said Mr. Gershon. "Many of my most profound musical experiences have been with LA Opera, both on the podium and 'behind the scenes.' It is extraordinarily gratifying for me to have a role in the powerful artistic growth of this company. As Resident Conductor of the LA Opera and Artistic Director of the LA Master Chorale, I am honored and humbled to play a part in the musical leadership of my native city."

"Grant's contributions to the musical standards of the house have been enormous, and his great musicianship and warm positive personality have helped us all in continually improving the level of performances," said James Conlon. "The mark of a great opera company is not measured in the stars who pass through, but by those who are its residents and perform night after night, season after season. The standards of the orchestra and chorus define the musical level of the theater. I could not have a better partner than Grant in pursuing our artistic goals."

Mr. Gershon was first named Resident Conductor of LA Opera in 2012, having served as Associate Conductor and Chorus Master since 2007. He made his LA Opera debut as conductor in 2009 with La Traviata. He also conducted the world premiere of Daniel Catán's Il Postino in 2010, which was filmed for a subsequent telecast on PBS's "Great Performances" and DVD release. In 2011, he conducted LA Opera's presentation of Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato, choreographed by Mark Morris. Since then, he has also conducted LA Opera productions of Madame Butterfly (2012), Lee Holdridge's Dulce Rosa (2013) and Carmen (2013). In the coming season, he will conduct LA Opera's December 2014 revival of Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas.

In his ongoing role as Director of the LA Opera Chorus, Mr. Gershon has prepared the choruses for 45 LA Opera productions, from Fidelio in 2007 through this month's Thaïs. He also prepared the LA Opera Chorus for a 2007 performance of the Verdi Requiem and for two "Great Opera Choruses" concerts presented at CSUN's Valley Performing Arts Center in April 2014. He began his LA Opera career as an assistant conductor and as principal pianist from 1988 to 1994, helping to prepare more than 40 productions and garnering a reputation as one of the country's exceptional vocal coaches.

Grant Gershon, who has been Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 2001, continues his distinguished leadership there with the new title of Artistic Director through the summer of 2020. Elsewhere, he has conducted Il Postino at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, La Traviata at Wolf Trap Opera, John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, Vivaldi's Griselda at the Santa Fe Opera, the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath at the Minnesota Opera and at the Utah Symphony, and Philip Glass's the CIVIL wars with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.