2009 Artistic and Production Staff

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Judith H. Walker, General Director

Ms. Walker directs the artistic and administrative components of the Festival. During her tenure, Ms. Walker initiated and implemented the following: the Opera Guild, Music at Twilight, the Apprentice Program, Artist-in-Residence, Kids Fest, and Opera Connects for Teachers. Festival revenues have consistently grown under Ms. Walker's direction: ticket revenue grew 682 percent, while expenses increased by only 242 percent. Ms. Walker holds a B.S. from Southern Illinois University, and has served as a panelist for the Virginia Commission of the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and Mid-Atlantic Arts. She has served as President of the Junior League of Charlottesville, and as Vice-President of both the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library and Charlottesville University Symphony Orchestra boards. She was a member of the Charlottesville Rotary for many years and is a member of OPERA America . She regularly serves as a judge for regional auditions for the Metropolitan Opera and other competitions, having most recently judged the Opera Birmingham vocal-competition. She has served with the Charlottesville Regional Tourism Council as chair of the Tourism Expansion Committee as well as on the Virginia Tourism Corporation's committee Strengthening the Brand. Currently she serves on the board of Piedmont Council for the Arts and is a member of Odyssey and the Contemporary Club. In 1997 she was honored with the prestigious Piedmont Council for the Arts Individual Award for her outstanding contribution to the arts.

Patrick Hansen, Stage Director, Camelot

Mr. Hansen returns to Ash Lawn Opera after previously directing La bohème  and conducting productions of  The Tender Land ,  Così fan tutte ,  The Barber of Seville ,  La Cenerentola ,  The King and I ,  The Tragedie of Carmen , and  The Sound of Music. He currently is the Director of Opera at McGill University in Montreal where he has stage directed Così fan tutte , Alcina , Albert Herring ,  Thésée , and The Rape of Lucretia .  He is the former Music Director for Opera Festival of New Jersey and for six seasons served as Director of the Young American Artists Program at Glimmerglass Opera.  This coming season he stages an Evening of Puccini at the Kennedy Center , Orfeo ed Euridice  at Opera Memphis, and Agrippina , L'origine des espèces , and Trouble in Tahiti for Opera McGill's 09-10 season.

 Braden Toan, Music Director, Camelot

Conductor Braden Toan's eclectic career crosses from opera to American musical theater, as well as the symphonic and choral worlds. Trained as a symphony and opera conductor, opportunity took him to Broadway, where he conducted the legendary hit Miss Saigon and the revival of Man of La Mancha starring Brian Stokes Mitchell. During this same time he also conducted Rameau's Les Indes Gallantes , and the New York City Opera National Company production of Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment . In addition, he has led productions with New York City Opera and Chautauqua Opera including Sweeney Todd, Fiddler on the Roof , Candide , The Music Man , Cinderella , The Most Happy Fella and Once Upon a Mattress. As a conductor of new works, this year maestro Toan led a concert performance of Paula Kimper's new opera, Patience and Sarah in New York . 

 Cecelia Schieve, Stage Director, The Marriage of Figaro

Ms. Schieve currently is Opera Education Consultant with the Miami Dade School Department, and on the staff of Shakespeare in the Park Miami. Previous positions include as Director of the Young Artist Studio and Education at Florida Grand Opera and Assistant General Director and Director of the Studio Theatre Young Artist Program at Anchorage Opera. This is her sixth season at Ash Lawn Opera, where she most recently directed last season's My Fair Lady. She has also directed at Central City Opera, Merrimack Lyric, Artpark, Buffalo Opera, Brown Bag Opera, Chautauqua Institute, Florida Grand Opera and Anchorage Opera.  Ms. Schieve's  academic positions have included as Director of Opera at Boston Conservatory, and at New England School of Music, the Universities of Maryland, Kent State, Southern Georgia and Wisconsin; and Longy School of Music. 

James Lowe, Music Director, The Marriage of Figaro

Mr. Lowe recently concluded conducting performances of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of Gypsy , starring Patti LuPone. Previously, he toured the United States as Music Director and Conductor of the acclaimed Cameron Mackintosh/National Theatre production of My Fair Lady , and conducted the First National Tour of Adam Guettel's Tony Award-winning musical The Light in the Piazza . At Houston Grand Opera he conducted the world premiere production of The Little Prince , by Academy Award-winning composer Rachel Portman. At HGO he has also led Carmen , Le nozze di Figaro , Die Entführung aus dem Serail , and Jake Heggie's The End of the Affair (world premiere production).  Other engagements include Jonathan Dove's Flight ( Pittsburgh Opera Center ), Sweeney Todd (Wolf Trap Opera), The Nutcracker (Houston Ballet), and Little Women (Lyric Opera Cleveland). As Resident Conductor at the Ash Lawn Opera Festival, he conducted La Traviata , La Cenerentola , Die Fledermaus , and Kiss Me, Kate.

Adam Turner , Resident Conductor

Mr. Turner returns for his second season with Ash Lawn Opera, having previously conducted productions of Carmen and My Fair Lady .  During the 08-09 season, he served as Assistant Conductor and Chorusmaster for Virginia Opera, Assistant Conductor for Syracuse Opera, and staff pianist with Tulsa Opera.   Previously, he served as conductor/coach with Stadttheater Pforzheim in Germany , where he conducted over 30 performances of productions including Franz Lehar's Paganini , Les Misérables , and High Society .  Mr. Turner has also served as assistant conductor for Florida Grand Opera, Summer Opera Theatre ( Washington , DC ), Hot Springs Music Festival, and as vocal coach for Washington National Opera's Institute for Young Singers.  Next season, Mr. Turner returns to Florida Grand Opera as Assistant Conductor for productions of Pagliacci , Suor Angelica , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Il barbiere di Siviglia .    

 Brian C. Barker, Scene Designer

Mr. Barker has most recently worked in scene design with the touring Gibson Design Group, Clarence Brown Lab Theatre in Tennessee, and Barksdale and Carpenter's Science Theatres in Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Barker holds a B.F.A. from Virginia Commonwealth University and a M.F.A. in Scenic Design from the University of Tennessee . He had the honor of placing third in the SETC Sculptural Arts National Set Design Awards Contest in both 2006 and 2007.

Michael Wargo , Production Coordinator

Mr. Wargo has been in production for over thirty years. During that time he has spent eight years at the Brooklyn Center for Performing Arts at Brooklyn College as a Production Coordinator/Stage Manager. Following that he spent seven years at NBC-TV, 30 Rock in NYC, where he was second carpenter for six seasons of Saturday Night Live . His crew won an Emmy Award for the 25th Anniversary Show of SNL . He spent three years as an assistant to the Head Electrician at Radio City Music Hall. He has worked on feature films and many other TV shows. He is a certified stagehand of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local #1. Most recently he has worked as stage manager at the Paramount Theater, in Charlottesville .

Anne E. Grosz, Head Costumer

Ms. Grosz has designed costumes for many productions for opera, music theatre and plays including at Crossroads Theatre Company, The Foolish Theatre Company, The Fireside Theatre, Rutgers Theatre Company, Godlight Theatre Company, City Lights Youth Theatre, Utah Festival Opera Company, Forestburgh Playhouse, Kalamazoo Civic Theatre and Mary Washington College Theatre. Ms. Grosz also has crested Make-up and hair designs for Rutgers Theatre Company and Mary Washington College Theatre. She is currently based in New York City .

Erin Whipkey, Stage Manager

Ms. Whipkey's career to date has included stage managing everything from musical theatre, to opera, to dance. Favorite past companies include Radio City Entertainment ( Radio City Christmas Spectacular ), Opera Memphis ( Faust, Scott Joplin and Treemonisha, La Cenerentola, Macbeth, Carmen ), Goodspeed Musicals ( Pippin, Meet John Doe ), Merry-Go-Round Playhouse ( Miss Saigon, Thoroughly Modern Millie ), Opera Boston ( Pearl Fishers ), Light Opera Oklahoma           (Pirates of Penzance ), and two national tours with Chamber Theatre Productions.

Ashley Anderson, Coach

Ms. Anderson has recently completed a Master of Music degree at University of Michigan in Collaborative Piano under the direction of Martin Katz. She has served on staff as a coach/répétiteur for Opera in the Ozarks as well as Interlochen Center for the Arts. She has also collaborated with Arizona Opera and University of Michigan Opera . Her operatic and musical theater credits include La bohème, Albert Herring, Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, The Medium, Die Fledermaus, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Music Man. Next season she joins Florida Grand Opera as the Young Artist Studio's Coach/Accompanist.

Shelby Rhoades, Coach
Ms. Rhoades is an Associate Coach at the Juilliard School, Lecturer and Coach at the University of Washington, and Opera Music Director/Coach at Pacific Lutheran University. Previously she was staff accompanist at Albion College. In addition to her academic positions, Ms. Rhoades is an active free-lance coach and accompanist who has worked recently with Seattle Opera, Annas Bay Music Festival, Tacoma Opera, and as Music Director for the Scenes performed at the Opera America Convention in Seattle.