Gregory Buchalter
Artistic Director and Conductor

Gregory Buchalter received rave reviews when he conducted Salomé with the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland with Maria Ewing and Helga Dernesch this year.  He has conducted Die Fledermaus at the Vienna Volksoper and was the first American to conduct with the Kazakstan State Opera; the performances there included a televised Gala concert for the President of Kazakstan.  He has also conducted at the Los Angeles Opera, in Israel, and throughout the New York area.  He has been Chorus Master at the Bregenz Festival in Austria, Theater des Westens in Berlin and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Buchalter was recently appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of Opera Camerata of Washington.  The Washington Post called his conducting “spectacular” for his inaugural performance with the company, an Operatic Concert with the American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky and the Dominican tenor Francisco Casanova.

Mr. Buchalter is currently the chorus master of the Santa Fe Opera and recently conducted Mozart's "Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" for his anniversary at the Spoleto Festival. He is a member of the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera.  He has worked extensively with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and has been Chorus Master at the MET for several productions including the telecast of Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Don Giovanni and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.  In addition, the position of “Maestro di Banda” was created at the MET for him.  He has also prepared several world premiers at the MET:  John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, Philip Glass’ The Voyage and John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby.  In the latter, Mr. Buchalter created the on-stage part of the jazz band conductor.

At the Santa Fe Opera, he was instrumental in the preparation of the American premier of Salinnen’s The King Goes Forth To France.  In February 1992, Mr. Buchalter founded his own chorus, “Choros Aristos”, and led them in a performance of Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle at New York’s Merkin Hall in commemoration of that composer’s 200th birthday.  In 1995, he conducted the “Metropolitan Consort”, a group comprised of members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in a highly successful concert of Baroque music.  For several seasons he has been guest conductor with the New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble where he has conducted such works as Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky.  As both pianist and conductor, Mr. Buchalter has toured such places as Cairo, Kuwait, Malaysia, Turkey and Hong Kong.  As a lecturer and speaker he has been invited to hold Master Classes throughout the United States.

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