2 named to head training at Opera
CarrieAnn Matheson, a pianist, conductor and administrator with an extensive international background in opera, has been named, along with artist manager Markus Beam, to head the San Francisco Opera Center, the training wing of the San Francisco Opera.
The duo will take up their new roles in January, succeeding Sheri Greenawald, who is stepping down after 18 years as the center’s director, the company announced Monday, Aug. 17.
Under the new organizational plan for the center, Matheson will have the title of artistic director and Beam will serve as general manager. Together, the two will oversee the company’s Adler Fellowship program, which is responsible for education and career development of young artists, as well as the Merola Opera Program, the summer program that is the gateway to the company’s training activities.
Gregory Henkel, the Opera’s artistic managing director, said that the idea of bringing together two administrators from separate but overlapping areas of the music world was both a response to recent challenges in the industry — including the COVID19 pandemic and the importance of bringing diversity efforts to the foreground — and the confluence of their particular talents.
“We were looking for an inspirational and effective leader, someone who has a talent for discovering interesting voices and implementing new curricula,” Henkel told The Chronicle in a phone interview.
“At the same time, I’d been having conversations with each of them separately and I started to think, ‘This could be interesting.’ CarrieAnn is going to spend more time in the studio with young artists, so we needed someone like Markus who was an administrator but could also program concerts and cast operas.”
In a joint video conferencing call with The Chronicle from their respective homes — Matheson in Zurich and Beam in Philadelphia — the two presented a warmly united front.
“Our value systems are aligned, and our skill sets complement each other,” Matheson said. “We’re both very passionate about the idea of training the entire person, not just the musician.”
Beam added, “From our first conversation, we realized that we spoke the same language. We’re committed to a comprehensive approach that includes not only language and voice lessons, although those are always the necessary
baseline, but we also want to address the why of an artist — what they’re doing in the industry, what they have to say with their artistry. We believe in holding a space for their individuality.”
Both emphasized the importance of making the Center more racially inclusive, both organizationally and artistically.
“We’re looking at all facets of the audition process, including adding new cities on the audition tour,” Beam said. “We need to create more of a pathway for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color), and also to access the pathways we’re seeing to the talent that is out there.”
Matheson, 48, began her career as a member of the music staff at the Metropolitan Opera, serving as assistant conductor, prompter, pianist and vocal coach. She can be seen shepherding young singers through the audition process in Susan Froemke’s 2009 documentary “The Audition.”
Since 2014, she has been on the staff of the Zurich Opera, where she has accompanied such singers as Joyce DiDonato, Jonas Kaufman and Diana Damrau.
“I love that I have worn many hats in my career, and I intend to keep doing that,” she said. “But being in a room with a young musician as they go through the discovery process has been the through line in my career. To see them figuring out skills, becoming more comfortable in their craft — that is incredibly rewarding.”
Beam, 43, began his career as a baritone, including one stint with Merola in 2002. He is currently a vice president and artist manager with IMG Artists, where his roster of artists includes mezzosoprano Denyce Graves, countertenor Jakub Józef Orlinski and sopranos Sarah Cambidge and Melody Moore, both former Adler Fellows.
He is also a certified life coach, which grew out of his own career shift from singing to managing.
“I hired a coach to help me transition, and I love the actionoriented approach,” he said. “The work runs the gamut, but I work primarily with artists, including a lot of coaching around anxiety, performance and getting people clear on why they feel compelled to pursue this career.”
Much of the programming for the coming year is already in place, and because of the impact of the pandemic, the 2020 Merola participants have all been invited back for 2021. Adler Fellows have also had their terms with the company extended by a year.
“We’re both very passionate about the idea of training the entire person, not just the musician.”
CarrieAnn Matheson, speaking of herself and Markus Beam