Mary Jane Austin
Newly appointed music director Mary Jane Austin is delighted to have been warmly welcomed into the Bel Canto family!
She enjoys a rich musical life in New England, where her interests range from recital work and full scale opera productions to teaching and choral conducting, as well as promoting new compositions.
Her passion for the choral repertoire was ignited after becoming a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus at age 16, and since 2018 she has been the conductor of the Mad River Chorale in Central Vermont after a long tenure as a collaborative pianist for that organization.
Discovering a love for opera while studying with opera legends Claudia Pinza, Maurizio Arena, Enza Ferrari, and Warren Jones, she worked at the summer Italian opera program EPCASO as a repetiteur and coach from 1994-2016.
She is currently the principal keyboardist of the Vermont Symphony, and in 2016 she was awarded the title of "Honorary Conductor" of that organization in recognition of her contribution to the Vermont musical scene. Formerly a pianist in the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, she has regularly championed new music in groups such as TURNmusic and the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble.
For over a decade she acted as assistant conductor, rehearsal pianist and chorus master for the Opera Company of Middlebury (OCM), and has collaborated with the Craftsbury Chamber Players, Vermont Virtuosi, and Eleva Chamber Players, among others. She co-founded Vermont Italian Opera with bass Erik Kroncke, and together they direct opera and operettas at the Unadilla Theatre every summer. Currently on the faculty of the University of Vermont, she is also the music director of the Vermont Youth Opera of OCM.
In addition, she is the organist at the Waterbury Congregational Church, and serves as rehearsal pianist for the Vermont Symphony Chorus and South Burlington Community Chorus.
She enjoys a rich musical life in New England, where her interests range from recital work and full scale opera productions to teaching and choral conducting, as well as promoting new compositions.
Her passion for the choral repertoire was ignited after becoming a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus at age 16, and since 2018 she has been the conductor of the Mad River Chorale in Central Vermont after a long tenure as a collaborative pianist for that organization.
Discovering a love for opera while studying with opera legends Claudia Pinza, Maurizio Arena, Enza Ferrari, and Warren Jones, she worked at the summer Italian opera program EPCASO as a repetiteur and coach from 1994-2016.
She is currently the principal keyboardist of the Vermont Symphony, and in 2016 she was awarded the title of "Honorary Conductor" of that organization in recognition of her contribution to the Vermont musical scene. Formerly a pianist in the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, she has regularly championed new music in groups such as TURNmusic and the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble.
For over a decade she acted as assistant conductor, rehearsal pianist and chorus master for the Opera Company of Middlebury (OCM), and has collaborated with the Craftsbury Chamber Players, Vermont Virtuosi, and Eleva Chamber Players, among others. She co-founded Vermont Italian Opera with bass Erik Kroncke, and together they direct opera and operettas at the Unadilla Theatre every summer. Currently on the faculty of the University of Vermont, she is also the music director of the Vermont Youth Opera of OCM.
In addition, she is the organist at the Waterbury Congregational Church, and serves as rehearsal pianist for the Vermont Symphony Chorus and South Burlington Community Chorus.