Atlanta Opera maestro to step down

After decades as chorus master at the Atlanta Opera, Walter Huff has announced that he is stepping down to focus on his academic career at Indiana University. Huff ’s last day with the Atlanta Opera will be Jan. 1.

Huff joined the company in 1988, leading the chorus in more than 110 productions. The company has performed at Alliance Theater, Symphony Hall, the Fox Theatre, the Atlanta Civic Center, and performed in Europe with the 2008 Porgy and Bess tour.

Huff is currently an associate professor of music (choral conducting) in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

Rolando Salazar, current assistant conductor, assistant chorus master and music administrator for the Atlanta Opera, will serve as chorus master for the company’s upcoming production of “Don Pasquale.” Salazar has served as assistant conductor and pianist at the Bellingham Festival of Music, as assistant conductor at La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy, and as assistant conductor of the Festival of International Opera of the Americas.

For the elaborate production of “Turandot,” Lisa Hasson will assume the duties of chorus master. Hasson currently leads the choruses at Kentucky Opera and the Des Moines Metro Opera Festival. The Opera will launch a local and national search to fill the permanent role and plans to announce the new chorus master in the summer of 2017.