Nashville Opera Music Director 

Dean Williamson, currently the music director of Nashville Opera, is widely known for his perceptive and commanding conducting in a variety of repertoire.   He was artistic director of Opera Cleveland and was the founder and music director of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program.

He has conducted at many regional companies, including Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, New York City Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Boston, San Francisco Opera, Opera Colorado, Chautauqua Opera, Arizona Opera, Kentucky Opera, and Manitoba Opera.  

With Nashville Opera, he has recently released two studio opera recordings by Michael Nyman (Naxos) and the world premiere recording of Robert Patterson’s 3 Way (AMR Recordings.)  A new complete recording of Carly Simon’s opera Romulus Hunt will be released in 2020.  His video recording of Le Comte Ory with Des Moines Metro Opera earned an Emmy nomination.

He is a regular judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council and has conducted and given masterclasses at the University of Southern California, the New England Conservatory, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and Northwestern University