Neal Goren has conducted throughout the U. S. and in Europe. For Gotham Chamber Opera he conducted critically acclaimed productions of Mozart's Il sogno di Scipione, Milhaud's Les Malheurs d'Orphée, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (with period instruments), Martinu's Hlas lesa and Les Larmes du couteau, Sutermeister's Die schwarze Spinne, Handel's Arianna in Creta (with period instruments), Britten's Albert Herring, Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino, Haydn's L'isola disabitata, Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires, Haydn's Il mondo della luna, Montsalvatge's El gato con botas, and the world premiere of Nico Muhly's Dark Sisters. He led Gotham Chamber Opera's co-production of Respighi's La bella dormente nel bosco for Spoleto Festival USA and the Lincoln Center Festival in the summer of 2005, and conducted Britten's The Turn of the Screw for Angers Opera (France) and Opéra de Nantes for the reopening of Théâtre Graslin in February 2004. Mr. Goren made his New York City Opera debut conducting The Magic Flute in November 2003. He has participated in numerous PBS telecasts including Pavarotti Plus! and the Richard Tucker Memorial Concerts. As a recital accompanist, Mr. Goren has performed with Leontyne Price (as her exclusive musical collaborator), Kathleen Battle, Harolyn Blackwell, Håken Hagegård, Thomas Hampson, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Aprile Millo, Hermann Prey and others. He has been a member of the faculty of the graduate opera department of the Mannes College of Music since 1992 and served on the Board of Directors of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation from 1991-2003. In addition, Mr. Goren has served as a panelist for Opera America symposiums, is a regular guest on the Metropolitan Opera Quiz, a juror for numerous vocal competitions, and has given master classes in colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Named Classical Singer Magazine's 2008 "Stage Director of the Year", James Marvel has directed over 80 productions in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, South Korea, and the Czech Republic. In 2009, he directed a critically acclaimed new production of Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria for the Wolf Trap Opera Company. In 2010, James returned to Wolf Trap to direct Mozart's Zaide and made his Canadian debut directing Rape of Lucretia. He made his Lincoln Center debut at the Juilliard Opera Center and, in March 2011, he made his debut with Opera Africa in Johannesburg with a new production of Carmen. In 2012, Mr. Marvel made his Carnegie Hall debut, working on Katy Tucker's video production of Carmina Burana. He has also directed productions of Les pêcheurs de Perles for Opera Boston; La voix Humaine at Florence Gould Hall in New York City and for the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium; and Tosca at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.
Austin McCormick is the Founder and Artistic Director of Company XIV, based in Brooklyn, NY. Mr. McCormick holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Juilliard School and is a graduate of The Conservatory of Baroque Dance. His work has been presented at the Kennedy Center, La Mamma, Symphony Space, The Flea, Alvin Ailey Theater, Walter Reade Theater, Mark Morris Dance Center, and internationally in London, Mexico, Scotland, and Montreal. His work has been seen at the TED Conference, on Logo's "New Now Next Awards", and TLC's "Cake Boss". Mr. McCormick is the winner of the 2011 Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Grant from Opera America for new Directors in Opera, and the 2010 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Best Choreography. He was named one of the "Most Beautiful People of 2011" by Paper Magazine and a "NY Style Icon" by Time Out NY. Mr. McCormick was the first winner of the Susan Braun grant award from Dance Films Association, and his films have toured internationally to Amsterdam, London, Budapest, Latvia, and France. In addition to performing in his own choreography, Mr. McCormick has danced professionally for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet of New York, and has taught and lectured on Baroque dance as a guest of the Korean Government in Seoul. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree from NYU.