Philadelphia – Sept. 18, 2025 — After nearly five decades shaping the voices of world-class opera singers, Maestro Christofer Macatsoris, the Jeannine B. Cowles Music Director Chair and dedicated faculty member of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA), will step down this September. He will be honored with the title of Music Director Emeritus.
Since 1977, Macatsoris has been at the heart of AVA’s mission, molding generations of singers who have performed on premier opera stages around the world. His artistry, passion, and uncompromising standards have guided the institution’s Resident Artists through the rigorous training that has become the institution’s calling card.
Reflecting on Macatsoris’ tenure, AVA Board Chairman Rick Pitcairn remarks, “As Maestro Macatsoris transitions to Music Director Emeritus after 48 remarkable years, AVA celebrates his unparalleled legacy. With encyclopedic mastery of opera and a mentorship that has shaped global opera stars, he has enriched our students, board, and audiences alike. Undoubtedly, he has elevated our art form, leaving an indelible mark on AVA and the world of opera.”
After training at Italy’s renowned Conservatorio di Milano, Macatsoris joined the faculty of Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music in 1970, followed by several years at Johns Hopkins University before his appointment as AVA’s Music Director in 1977. During his tenure at AVA, Macatsoris led critically acclaimed performances of Puccini’s ll Trittico and Madama Butterfly, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Britten’s Albert Herring. Under his baton, AVA productions received critical acclaim, national recognition, and international invitations, solidifying a reputation as one of the world’s premier training institutions for opera singers.
Macatsoris’ legacy is most vividly reflected in the generations of artists who have studied under his guidance and gone on to international acclaim, including multiple Grammy Award winners. Counted among his students are Ruth Ann Swenson (’82), the celebrated lyric soprano who graced the stage of the Metropolitan Opera for nearly two decades; Joyce DiDonato (’95), one of the world’s most sought-after mezzo-sopranos, winner of multiple Grammy Awards and the Olivier Award; Angela Meade (’09), a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions winner who has become a leading international performer of Verdi and bel canto heroines; Latonia Moore (’04), acclaimed for her performances at the Met, Covent Garden, and opera houses worldwide; and Stuart Neill (’95), a distinguished tenor known for both his operatic and concert work; and AVA Board Member Richard Troxell (’92), whose career spans international opera houses and film, Maria Aleida (‘12), Burak Bilgili (‘04), Stephen Costello (‘07), Joyce El-Khoury (‘08), Michael Fabiano (‘09), Othalie Graham (‘14), Musa Ngqungwana (‘14), John Packard (’94), Ailyn Péréz (‘06), and James Valenti (‘06), among many more whose careers he has launched.
Three-time Grammy Award winner and AVA Board Member Latonia Moore (‘04) recalls how Macatsoris was a defining figure in her early career. “There were many good reasons for me to come to the Academy of Vocal Arts, but the most important was to study with Christofer Macatsoris,” says Moore. “Even before I became a Resident Artist, I would sneak into his coaching sessions, and he welcomed me with open arms. He taught me vocal line, syntax, and color, and he gave me not only his time but his heart. Maestro is my musical soul mate, truly a marvel, and I love him dearly.”
Beyond training opera singers, Macatsoris’ career has included conducting productions with major opera companies across the United States and abroad, as well as collaborations with a roster of A-list talent, including Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland, and Jon Vickers. As a conductor, he brought defining works of operatic repertoire to Philadelphia audiences for the first time, including Mozart’s Idomeneo and La finta giardiniera, Handel’s Deidamia, Strauss’s Capriccio, and Verdi’s Un giorno di regno. In recognition of his regional influence, Opera Magazine proclaimed him, “One of the treasures of the Philadelphia music scene.”
“It has been a great privilege to collaborate with Maestro Macastsoris in leading this institution,’ says AVA President and Artistic Director Scott Guzielek. “His artistic standards have set the bar for operatic excellence not only here but across the field at large. As we embark on the search for a new music director, Maestro’s guidance and insight will be integral to ensure we identify a candidate that can build on his extraordinary legacy. As we honor his tenure, AVA is committed to identifying a successor who can carry forward his standard of excellence.”
After his transition to Music Director Emeritus, Macatsoris will continue to maintain an active coaching schedule and share his vast knowledge with the next generation of opera singers.
Reflecting on his time as Music Director, Macatsoris comments in his characteristically direct style, “It’s been quite a ride. It’s been a long trip, but for company it’s great to have Mozart, Verdi, Strauss, and all the great composers with you. Also, to work with young performers – what more could you want?”
About the Academy of Vocal Arts: The mission of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) is to be the world’s premier institution for training young artists to become international opera soloists. Through rigorous instruction and coaching, and by presentations of Resident Artists from around the world in concerts, oratorios, public programs and fully staged professional opera productions, AVA trains artists with the high potential for career success while enriching lives in Philadelphia and beyond. Gifted singers come from throughout the world to seek the exceptional guidance and training that AVA offers. Admission is determined by competitive annual auditions. AVA is distinguished by its reputation for high-quality performances that are acclaimed by critics locally, nationally, and internationally. Each year AVA Resident Artists are presented in four or five fully staged opera productions accompanied by orchestra. Resident Artists are cast in leading roles that they will in all likelihood continue to perform for the rest of their careers. Learn more about AVA at avaopera.org.
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Academy of Vocal Arts
1920 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
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