Opera Faculty

• Buck Ross, director and producer. Has staged productions for the Houston Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Houston Symphony, San Antonio Opera, Kentucky Opera, El Paso Opera, Utah Opera. For many years he was Director of Dramatic Studies for the Houston Opera Studio and co-director of the apprentice program of the Des Moines Metro Opera. Librettist for opera adaptation of E.M. Forster's A Room With a View with music by Robert Nelson. Author of English singing versions of several operas including Don Pasquale, La Finta Giardiniera, and Orpheus in the Underworld. He holds degrees in music and theatre from Bucknell University, and an MFA in stage direction from the University of Minnesota where he was assistant to H. Wesley Balk.
• Brett Mitchell, Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra; former Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony; and cover conductor for The Philadelphia Orchestra. Mitchell has led performances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Oregon, National, Memphis, Peoria, and Frankfurt Radio symphonies; the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; and the Northwest Mahler Festival Orchestra. Mitchell has also acted as musical assistant and cover conductor for The Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. He made his European debut in 2004 with Romania's Brasov Philharmonic and his Latin American debut in 2005 with the Orquesta Filarmónica de la UNAM in Mexico City. He holds degrees from The University of Texas, Western Washington University. Participant in the National Conducting Institute in Washington, D.C.; studied extensively with Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival and Kurt Masur as a recipient of the inaugural American Friends of the Mendelssohn Foundation Scholarship. Mitchell was also one of five recipients of the League of American Orchestras' prestigious American Conducting Fellowship from 2007 to 2010.

Voice Faculty

• Cynthia Clayton, soprano. Leading roles with Dallas Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Knoxville Opera, Central City Opera, New York City Opera, Utah Opera, Orlando Opera, Festival Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Cleveland Opera, and Santa Barbara Grand Opera. Roles include Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Liù in Turandot, Lady Penelope Rich in Britten’s Gloriana, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, both Mimì and Musetta in La bohème, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Floyd’s Susannah, Mary Willis in Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree, Micaëla in Carmen, Massenet’s Manon, Violetta in La traviata, Nedda in Pagliacci, and Marguerite in Faust.
• Joseph Evans, tenor. Among his appearances as a leading tenor are those for La Scala, Ireland's Wexford Festival, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera de Nantes, Orleans, and Nancy, La Fenice, Theatre de Geneve, New York City Opera, eight seasons, Houston Grand Opera and the companies of San Diego, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Boston and Cleveland; performances with New York Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, orchestras of Cleveland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and others; recordings, Sony Classics, CBS Masterworks, Cybellia and Gasparo labels
• Timothy Jones, bass-baritone. Acclaimed throughout the United States, Canada, South America and Europe, Timothy Jones is rapidly emerging as one of the leading bass-baritones of his generation. His eagerly anticipated performances combine intelligent musicianship, commanding vocal technique and a unique ability to connect with audiences. He is a champion of opera, the concert stage, chamber music, solo recitals and the premieres of contemporary works.
• Lynda Keith McKnight, soprano, made her stage debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1991 in the world premiere of John Corgliano's The Ghosts of Versailles, and has sung professionally with opera companies throughout the US and abroad. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1988, Ms. McKnight has been featured in Opera News magazine. Operatic performances include bows with the Toledo Opera, the Shreveport Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, the Wolf Trap Opera, and Sugarland Opera. In addition to standard repertoire such as Violetta, Musetta, Marguerite, and Hannah Glawari, she has become sought after as an interpreter of new and undiscovered music, with repertoire ranging from Zemlinsky's The Chalk Circle to Daron Hagen's Amelia. Ms. McKnight holds both a MM in Voice and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, as well as a BM in vocal performance from Baylor University.
• Jeb Mueller, Director of University Men's Chorus, Concert Women's Chorus
  Director of University Men's Chorus, Concert Women's Chorus, helps prepare opera choruses, and teaches choral music education courses. In addition to his teaching duties, he is an active clinician, adjudicator, and conference presenter. Mueller taught high school choral music in the Houston area for six years. His choirs consistently earned superior ratings at contests and were twice chosen the Overall Best Choir at state and national choral festivals. Dr. Mueller holds degrees from The University of Miami, The University of Texas, and Texas Tech University.
• Melanie Sonnenberg, mezzo-soprano. International appearances include leading roles with Teatro San Carlo, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Graz Oper, Salzburg Festspielhaus, Tokyo Yoyogi Arena, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, Edmonton Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Edmonton Opera, Opera Ontario, New Orleans Opera, San Diego Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Indianapolis Opera, among others, and soloist with Opera Orchestra of New York, Grazer Philharmonic, Little Orchestra Society, San Antonio Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra, and Princeton Festival Orchestra. Television performances on PBS- “Live from Lincoln Center” and “Great Performances” and the ORF- Austrian Radio and Television; recording on Reference.
• Hector Vasquez, baritone. Leading roles, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Cleveland, Orlando, and Houston Grand Opera in addition to his appearances as baritone soloist with Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Houston Philharmonic/Symphony Orchestras, among others. Featured artist at Music Festivals of Berlin, Ojai, Aspen, Carmel, Santa Fe Chamber, and the Hollywood Bowl Summer Season. Voice instructor at University of Southern California and California State University, Los Angeles; clinician, Opera America. National and international adjudicator, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Recordings on Kultur Video, Sony Classical and Albany records. Broadcasts appearances include Live from the MET, Live from Lincoln Center and NPR radio.
• Betsy Cook Weber, Director of Choral Studies. Director of Moores School Concert Chorale; served for seven years as Assistant/Associate Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus; successful music teacher in the public schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels, during which time choirs there won numerous competitions and awards; active at local and national levels as a conductor, presenter, and clinician; several of her editions of choral works are in current publication; degrees from North Texas State University, Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ), and University of Houston.

Moores Opera Center

• Thom Guthrie, designer and technical director, manager, Moores Opera House
• Jason Burton, assistant manager, Moores Opera House