RICHMOND/NORFOLK/FAIRFAX, VA (July 5, 2016) Virginia Opera continues to select top young talent to maintain the highest artistic standards in the industry. Newly appointed Chorus Master/Assistant Conductor Aaron Breid represents the next generation of those young artists on track to sustain the opera legacy and its relevance for the 21st century.
A native of California and alumnus of the esteemed Pierre Monteux School for Conductors, Breid comes to Virginia Opera also steeped in experience as an apprentice coach for the prestigious Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera as well as Assistant Conductor appointments at Minnesota Opera, Sarasota Opera, Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Brevard Music Center and Center Stage Opera. This summer at Central City Opera as the newly appointed Associate Conductor and Chorus Master, Breid conducts performances of The Impresario and The Ballad of Baby Doe.
After an impressive debut last season with Virginia Opera as Chorus Master for La Bohème, Breid’s talent garnered rave reviews: “…a boisterous crowd of almost 50 Parisians celebrating Christmas Eve moved and sang with joyful precision…Kudos to the Virginia Opera choruses.” – The Virginian Pilot
Breid begins his new responsibilities at Virginia Opera in late summer preparing choristers for a demanding season including Pagliacci, The Barber of Seville, for which he conducts the Student Afternoon performance in Richmond, Der Freischütz, and Turandot. He is in charge of musical preparation of the chorus in all choral activities undertaken by Virginia Opera. Each production in the 2016-2017 season features the chorus and, in the case of Turandot, a large children’s chorus. His primary responsibilities as Chorus Master/Assistant Conductor include:
* Assisting and providing support to Virginia Opera’s Principal and guest conductors as requested
* Serving as the cover conductor for the Principal Conductor and guest conductors for all rehearsals and performances
* Liaising with Principal Conductor and guest conductors where appropriate to ensure the chorus musical preparation reflects their intention for rehearsal and performance
* Coaching, accompanying and preparing opera and concert repertoire as may be required with members of the chorus
* Ensuring appropriate chorus musical requirements are included in each season’s schedule
* Preparing the Children’s Chorus
Breid returns to Virginia in August to prepare the Virginia Opera chorus for mainstage performances of The Seven Deadly Sins/Pagliacci opening September 30 in Hampton Roads and continuing through October 16 in Central and Northern Virginia. About Virginia Opera Virginia Opera Association, Inc., in its 42nd season, is known and respected nationwide for the identification and presentation of the finest young artists, for the musical and dramatic integrity of its productions, and for the ingenuity and variety of its education and outreach programs. Mainstage performances in three markets across the Commonwealth reach nearly 50,000 attendees annually. In March of 1994, by unanimous vote of the Virginia General Assembly, Virginia Opera was named The Official Opera Company of the Commonwealth of Virginia in recognition of the organization’s contribution to the state as well as to the world of opera. For tickets and information visit vaopera.org or call 866.673.7282.