Kristin Roach
Conductor
BIO
KRISTIN ROACH is a Grammy-nominated pianist and international conductor with 40+ new operas and 20+ world premieres under her baton. She is the winner of the American Prize in Opera Conducting 2023 for Suor Angelica with Lawrence Opera Theater.
Kristin is committed to the ongoing evolution of opera in the 21st century by leading newly composed works, championing underrepresented artists and creators, and training the next generation of performers.
Upcoming conducting engagements include Cendrillon/Alice Tierney for Lawrence Opera Theater, Thumbprint for the University of Arizona and The Crucible for Opera in the Ozarks. Recently completed projects include the world premiere of Alice in Wonderland by Amy Scurria at Red River Lyric Opera, Thumbprint for Chautauqua Opera Company, Two Remain for Lyric Opera of Orange County, Tosca for Texas Concert Opera Collective, Alcina, Suor Angelica, Curlew River, and The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Adventures of Mr. Burke and Mr. Hare for Lawrence Opera Theater, La Cenerentola for Pacific Opera Project, and Prima la musica poi le parole for Vocal Academy of Opera in Bodrum, Turkey.
She serves as Assistant Professor of Music at Lawrence University, where she is opera conductor, vocal coach, and instructor of recitative courses.
As Founding Music Director of Alamo City Opera, where she served from 2012 to its closure in 2019, Ms. Roach conducted 17 productions of operas, including many South Texas premieres. A San Antonio native, she partnered with founder and General Director, the late Mark Richter, to help ACO establish an atmosphere of intimate opera. With diverse and often ground-breaking programming including fresh, energetic takes on Dido and Aeneas, Acis and Galatea, Cenerentola and the Star Trek version of Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, Trouble in Tahiti, The Medium, and Laura Kaminsky’s As One, Alamo City’s productions drew hundreds, boasting an average audience age under 35, many of whom were first-time opera-goers.
In recognition of the area’s wealth of Spanish speaking residents, Alamo City also presented San Antonio’s first full-length opera in Spanish, La hija de Rappaccini by Mexican composer Daniel Catan; followed by rave reviews for Piazzolla’s “operita” Maria de Buenos Aires. ACO also developed signature collaborations which featured Ms. Roach at the piano, including Opera vs Broadway I, II, and III (featuring a wealth of local opera and musical theater talent), Opera in the Park (a free concert series in beautiful Travis Park), and Songs by Dvorak and Brahms in collaboration with Alamo Arts Ballet Theater.
Additional conducting credits include the world premieres of Mollicone’s Children of the Sun (orchestrated) and Leo Chadburn’s Golden Space City of God, Don Giovanni, The Turn of the Screw, A Little Night Music, La Bohème, The Pirates of Penzance, Così fan tutte, Die Zauberflöte, Don Pasquale, The Medium, Bastien und Bastienne/La Curandera, The Italian Lesson, Gianni Schicchi, Buoso’s Ghost, Bon Appetit, Gallantry, Prince Orlovsky’s Ball, Liszt’s Christus, and The Consul.
Ms. Roach has prepared productions for the San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, Utah Opera, San Antonio Opera, San Antonio Symphony, Brevard Music Institute, Aspen Music Festival, Breckenridge Music Institute, Taos Opera Institute, Opera Theatre of Rochester, Eastman Opera Theater, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Spotlight on Opera, and Texas Concert Opera Collective.
Acclaimed for her “revelatory” and “infectious high spirits” at the keyboard, Ms. Roach has appeared as a soloist with the San Antonio Symphony, Mid-Texas Symphony, San Antonio Wind Symphony, and Eastman Philharmonia; and as chamber musician with Camerata San Antonio, Chamber Music Amarillo, Olmos Ensemble, Musical Offerings, and Cactus Pear Music Festival.
She has toured Europe with the Children’s Chorus of San Antonio and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, performing on the historic organs of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Church of the Madeleine, Ely Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral and York University.
Her recordings include the Trinity Jazz Project, a self-produced collection of her original arrangements of hymn tunes, and classical works with the New World Symphony for Decca Records and with the Eastman Wind Ensemble for Sony Classical Records. Her newest recording, released in April 2018, features her collaboration with violinist Daniel Kobialka. Her recording of chamber works by Miguel del Aguila with Camerata San Antonio, Salon Buenos Aires, was nominated for two Latin Grammy® Awards.
Ms. Roach is in demand as a vocal coach whose studio includes numerous opera singers with both professional companies and apprentice programs, university faculty and students, chamber music groups, and church musicians.
She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music in Applied Music (Piano), the Performer’s Certificate in Piano, and a Master of Music in Piano Performance/Literature and Piano Accompanying/ Chamber Music.