Charles MacKay
General Director, The Santa Fe Opera

When Charles MacKay succeeded Richard Gaddes as general director of The Santa Fe Opera in 2008, he became only the third individual to hold that title in the company's 55-year history. Raised in Santa Fe, MacKay had held several positions at The Santa Fe Opera in his early career, including French horn player, box office manager, development and sales manager, and business manager. Following positions with the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. in Charleston, SC, and the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, MacKay joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and was named general director in 1985. During his 23-year tenure, the company gained national and international acclaim for the presentation of innovative repertory and the discovery of important young singers. A frequent adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, MacKay is a member of the Curtis Institute of Music Board of Overseers and the Board of the William M. Sullivan Musical Foundation. MacKay is the recipient of a Missouri Arts Award in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of the arts in Missouri; a Doctor of Music honoris causa from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the St. Louis Arts & Education Council's Excellence in the Arts Award. His election to the OPERA America Board of Directors marks a return to the organization, having been first elected in 1985. He served again from 1997-2012, holding the offices of Chairman (2004-2008) and Vice Chairman (1998-2004).

Nicole Paiement
Founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor, Opera Parallèle

Nicole Paiement founded Opera Parallèle with the primary intent of promoting contemporary music and opera. Paiement has since gained an international reputation as a conductor and specialist of contemporary opera and contemporary music. Her recordings include many world premiere works, and she has toured extensively in the U.S. and Asia. As artistic director of Opera Parallèle, she conducted the 2007 world premiere of Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar, the West Coast premiere of John Rea’s re-orchestration of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck (2010), the San Francisco premiere of Philip Glass’ Orphée (2011), the world premiere performance of Jacques Desjardins’ re-orchestration of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby (2012) and the Bay Area premiere of Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar (2013). Paiement is an active guest conductor both in the U.S. and abroad. For The Dallas Opera, she recently conducted a new production of Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse and she will return in January 2014 to conduct Tod Machover's Death and the Powers. Paiement is also artistic director of the BluePrint Project — a new music concert series sponsored by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is on faculty at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she conducts the orchestra and opera productions.

Kathryn Smith
General Director, Madison Opera

Kathryn Smith has been general director of Madison Opera since July 2011. Her time in Madison has seen an expansion of the repertoire, with five company premieres and the creation of the new Studio Artist Program. Under her leadership, the company is preparing to open The Madison Opera Center, which will be the company’s new artistic and administrative home in downtown Madison and allow a further growth of outreach and education activities. Smith came to Madison after seven years as general director of Tacoma Opera, where she won praise for expanding the company’s productions and eradicating years of accumulated debt. She received ArtsFund’s 2008 Outstanding Achievement in the Arts Award. From 1997 to 2003, Smith worked at the Metropolitan Opera, starting in the rehearsal department and ending as the company’s assistant artistic administrator. She also worked at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Wolf Trap Opera early in her career. A native of Seattle and graduate of Harvard University, she is a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has served on an advisory panel for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Melia P. Tourangeau
President and CEO, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera

Following an extensive national search, Melia P. Tourangeau joined Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (USUO) as president and chief executive officer in April 2008. USUO is the only combined 52-week orchestra and opera organization in the U.S., which has an $18 million annual operating budget, an administrative staff of 65 and 85 professional musicians. Under Tourangeau’s leadership, USUO increased ticket revenue by over $1 million, returned the annual fund to pre-recession levels and secured over $6 million in bridge support between 2008 and 2012. Prior to joining USUO, Tourangeau was appointed president of Grand Rapids Symphony in April 2005 where she was responsible for the overall financial, operational and administrative management of the organization with an $8.5 million annual operating budget, an administrative staff of 33 and 75 contracted professional musicians. Tourangeau joined the Grand Rapids Symphony as education director in January 1997 and was promoted to director of operations, then vice president and general manager. She received her B.M. in 1994 from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music with a major in piano performance and a minor in musicology. In April 2007, she received a Master’s in public administration with an emphasis on nonprofit leadership at Grand Valley State University and was inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the honors society for public administrators. Tourangeau was on the Executive Committee and the Board of the Economic Club of Grand Rapids, was a member of the Grand Rapids Rotary Club and on the Conservatory Committee of the Oberlin College Alumni Council. She is currently a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), the International Women’s Forum, the League of American Orchestras and the Alta Club.