SFO Announces New Chorus Director

John Keene, newly appointed SFO Chorus Director (courtesy of SFO)

This afternoon San Francisco Opera (SFO) announced that, at the beginning of next month, John Keene will become the new Chorus Director. He will succeed Ian Robertson, whose tenure will conclude at the end of this month. Regular readers will probably recall that this weekend there will be two performances by the Chorus of a program entitled San Francisco Opera Chorus In Concert: Celebrating Ian Robertson. That program will honor Robertson’s 35 seasons with SFO.

Keene is currently Head of Music Staff and Chorus Master for the Seattle Opera. He made his debut with that company in 2012, preparing the Seattle Opera Chorus for its role in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 72 Fidelio. He was Assistant Conductor for Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and he served as musical consultant for the recording of the Ring that was released on the Avie label. Prior to Seattle, Keene served as Head of Music Staff and Chorus Master for the Florida Grand Opera.