Biography

Brent McMunn made his Lincoln Center conducting debut with Les contes d’Hoffmann for the New York City Opera in 1998. He has since conducted main-stage productions for five seasons at the New York City Opera, their New Works Series for three seasons, has toured as conductor of their National Company and has served as assistant and cover conductor for numerous productions. Guest conducting engagements include Arizona Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, Lake George Opera, New Jersey Opera Theater and Calgary Opera. He has also held the position of co-artistic director of the Ridgefield Opera Company in Connecticut. As assistant/cover conductor at the Los Angeles Opera, the Dallas Opera and the Santa Fe Opera, he assisted conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Richard Bonynge, Edo de Waart, Julius Rudel and Placido Domingo. After earning degrees in piano and oboe from the Eastman School of Music and in accompanying from the USC Thornton School of Music, McMunn was active for many years as a pianist in Southern California. He has collaborated with eminent instrumentalists such as Lynn Harrell, Iona Brown, Stuart Canin, Ronald Copes, Heichiro Ohyama, Cynthia Phelps and Michelle Makarski. He has appeared on the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Chamber Music Series, at the Library of Congress with the Juilliard Quartet, as soloist at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival and with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and in recital at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and in Carnegie Hall. McMunn has worked extensively with young singers in the young artist programs of the New York City Opera and the Santa Fe Opera, as a coach at the Juilliard School, as director of opera at California State University, Long Beach and as a faculty member at UC Santa Barbara and the Aspen Music Festival.

Academic Degrees

• MM, USC Thornton School of Music, 1981
• BM, Eastman School of Music, 1979