Keene, John

(Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

2023–24 Season: Chorus Director, Il Trovatore, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs; Lohengrin; Omar;The Elixir of Love; The Magic Flute, Innocence

2022–23 Season: Chorus Director, John Adams' Antony and Cleopatra, Eugene Onegin, Dialogues of the Carmelites, La Traviata, Orpheus and Eurydice, San Francisco Opera Chorus in Concert; Madame Butterfly, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Gabriela Lena Frank's El último sueño de Frida y Diego, 100th Anniversary Concert

San Francisco Opera Highlights: Don Giovanni, Dream of the Red Chamber, Eun Sun Kim Conducts Verdi

John Keene is newly appointed as Chorus Director of San Francisco Opera, previously receiving acclaim for his work as Chorus Master with Seattle Opera where he also served as Head of Music Staff and Assistant Conductor for Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. In addition to his depth of experience preparing operatic choruses in a repertoire which approaches one hundred titles, he is a highly respected vocal coach, concert accompanist, and conductor. Maestro Keene has been affiliated with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Florida Grand Opera, New Orleans Opera, and for San Francisco Opera Center conducted a national tour of Il Barbiere di Siviglia to celebrate Western Opera Theater’s thirtieth anniversary and served as a Master Coach for Merola Opera Program. He studied at the University of Southern California with the pioneer teacher of accompanying, Gwendolyn Koldofsky, who invited him to partner fellow student Thomas Hampson in her song classes. A former cellist, he became the youngest ever member of his hometown Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Symphony Orchestra at age eleven.