Competition Judges

Eiki Isomura
Artistic Director/Principal Conductor, Opera in the Heights

Japanese-American conductor Eiki Isomura is in his fifth season as artistic director and principal conductor of Opera in the Heights (OH), where he has led over a hundred performances of twenty-five operas, drawing consistent praise for elevating the company’s performance standard.

He has served on the music staff of Opera in the Ozarks, as well as HGOco, preparing and performing numerous world premieres of chamber operas for Houston Grand Opera. A passionate advocate for new music, Eiki launched OH’s’ first-ever new works festival. He previously served as director of orchestral activities at Lone Star College-Montgomery and held a residency as guest music director of opera at Temple University.

Eiki holds a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Kenneth Kiesler, also his mentor in the conductors program at the National Arts Centre in Canada, where Eiki conducted the NAC Orchestra
 

Jeffrey Larson
Founder/President - L2 Artists

Jeffrey Larson has dedicated himself to the development and management of world-class artists for over a decade. He currently serves as a founding board member of Opera Managers Association International (OMAI) and on the opera committee of the International Artists’ Managers Association (IAMA).

After seven years at Columbia Artists Management, followed by Artistic Services Manager at OPERA America, he has built and managed successful partnerships with a distinguished list of artists and performing arts organizations alike.

He served as an adjudicator for the Oratorio Society of New York’s Solo Competition, as well as presented master classes at Rice University and Westminster Choir College.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Texas Tech University and a Master’s Degree from University of Kentucky, both in Vocal Performance, and a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts Administration from New York University

Anne-Carolyn Bird
Executive Director, UrbanArias

With almost two decades’ experience in the international opera field as a performer and administrator, Anne-Carolyn Bird brings a wide range of knowledge and expertise to her position at UrbanArias, a celebrated contemporary opera company in the Washington, D.C. area.

Ms. Bird comes to UrbanArias most recently from Washington National Opera (WNO) at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts where she was responsible for stewarding the WNO Board of Trustees.  Before joining WNO in 2017, Ms. Bird was a highly-respected interpreter of the music of living composers, including Philip Glass (Kepler, Spoleto Festival US; Appomattox, Washington National Opera), David Lang (Little Match Girl Passion, IlluminArts), Osvaldo Golijov (La pasion segun San Marcos, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Ainadamar, Santa Fe Opera), and John Musto (Inspector, Volpone, both with Wolf Trap Opera). 

Ms. Bird also enjoyed a successful international opera and concert career. A regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera, she can be seen in Live in HD productions of Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Manon, and L’elisir d’amore. Her most frequently performed role was Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, which she created in eight different productions at companies across the United States. Other role highlights include Zerlina (Don Giovanni, Nashville Opera), Morgana (Alcina, directed by R.B. Schlather), and the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Hong Kong).