Christopher Zemliauskas
Conductor/Pianist/Coach
6973 Miro Court
Niwot, CO 80503 USA
317-432-4773
[email protected]
Opera Experience
2012, 13 Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Conductor
l Conductor, Lakme
l Conductor, Die Fledermaus
l Conductor, La Traviata
2009, 2011-2013 Central City Opera, Conductor
l Conductor, Our Town
l Conductor, Oklahoma!
l Conductor, Carmen and Amadigi di Gaula (Handel)
l Conductor, A Little Night Music (Sondheim)
2010 Des Moines Metro Opera, Music Staff, Assistant Conductor
l Assistant Conductor, Susannah
l Conductor, Stars of Tomorrow Orchestral Concert
l Pianist/Music director, Scenes program
2006-08 Central City Opera, Associate Conductor
l Conductor, Curlew River (Britten)
l Conductor, Student Matinees of West Side Story, Susannah, La Traviata,
Cendrillon, Don Giovanni, and The Ballad of Baby Doe
l Cover conductor for above, The Saint of Bleecker Street, and The Rape of
Lucretia
l Chorus Master, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 seasons
l Backstage conducting/chorus responsibilities
2006, 2009 Opera Colorado, Music Staff
l Principal pianist/harpsichordist, The Barber of Seville
l Pianist, 2009 Gala Concert
l Assisted in the production of Carmen as rehearsal pianist/coach
2005 San Francisco Opera, Music staff
l Rehearsal pianist and coach, Rodelinda (Handel)
l Prepared covers
2003-05 Minnesota Opera, Resident Artist Conductor
l Conductor for 2nd cast mainstage performances of Madama Butterfly, Die
Zauberflöte, and Carmen
l Conductor for Resident Artist productions of The Rape of Lucretia and
Der Kaiser von Atlantis
l Cover conductor/coach/rehearsal pianist for mainstage productions of
Rigoletto, Lucrezia Borgia, Passion (Sondheim), Maria Padilla
(Donizetti), and Nixon in China
l Orchestral pianist for Passion
l Developed, programmed, and accompanied Resident Artist Recital Series
and concerts
l Lecturer for Adult Education Classes on Passion and Carmen
l Studies included Italian, German, French, yoga, tai chi, acting, Alexander
Technique, stage combat, and dance
2004-05 Central City Opera, Coach
l Rehearsal pianist/coach, The Tales of Hoffmann, Le jongleur de Notre
Dame (Massenet), Madama Butterfly, and Vanessa
l Music Director, Scenes program and Art song recitals
l Orchestral pianist for Le jongleur de Notre Dame and Vanessa
l Backstage conducting/chorus responsibilities
2002-03 Minnesota Opera, Resident Artist Coach/Accompanist
l Rehearsal pianist/coach, The Merry Widow, Norma, The Flying
Dutchman, La Traviata, and The Handmaid’s Tale (Ruders)
2001-02 Indianapolis Opera, Young Artist Program Coach/Accompanist
l Pianist and coach for all young artist concerts, recitals, master classes, and
outreach performances
l Musical Director, school residency productions of The Pirates of
Penzance
l Rehearsal pianist, Samson et Dalilah, Don Pasquale, and Eugene Onegin
Orchestral Experience
l
l
Pianist, Colorado Symphony Orchestra (2008-present)
Symphony Conductor, Boulder Youth Symphony (2008)
University Opera Experience
2012 Northwestern University, Guest Conductor
l Conductor, Albert Herring
2005-present University of Colorado, Assistant Musical Director of the
Opera Program (Senior Instructor)
l Conductor, Little Women (2013)
l Pianist, Wolf Liederabend, presented by CU Voice Faculty (2012)
l Conductor, Our Town (Rorem) (2010)
l Conductor, Albert Herring (2009)
l Conductor, Orfeo ed Euridice (2 performances) (2006)
l Chorus master for The Rake's Progress, Susannah, Dead Man Walking,
Die Fledermaus, The Cunning Little Vixen, Die Zauberflöte, West Side
Story, and Orfeo ed Euridice
l Assistant conductor/coach/pianist for CU productions of Dead Man
Walking, Die Fledermaus, The Cunning Little Vixen, Die Zauberflöte,
West Side Story, Hansel and Gretel, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni,
La Traviata, and The Rape of Lucretia.
l Recital/concert/scenes program preparation
l Instructor, German Diction and Opera Scenes Workshop
1998-2001 University of Minnesota, Opera Department TA
l Rehearsal pianist/coach/chorus master for productions of Dialogues des
Carmelites, Die Fledermaus, and Eric Hermannson’s Soul (Libby Larson)
l Orchestral pianist, Dialogues des Carmelites
l Pianist/coach, Scenes program
2000 Minnesota Opera, Pianist Intern
l Accompanied rehearsals of Macbeth and Carmina Burana/Pagliacci as an
intern through the University of Minnesota
1997-98 Ithaca College, Lecturer
l Faculty position included coaching singers for scenes program and
coaching/accompanying rehearsals for Gianni Schicchi and Down in the
Valley (Weil)
Summer Programs
2003 Merola Opera Program, Apprentice Coach
l Accompanied and coached productions of The Barber of Seville, The
Medium, and Angelique
l Continuo player for The Barber of Seville
l Accompanied master classes given by Warren Jones, Martin Katz, Jane
Eaglen, Steven Blier, and Tom Krause.
2001-02 Music Academy of the West, Vocal Pianist
l Accompanied and coached productions of Don Pasquale and L’enfant et
les sortilèges
l Weekly lessons and art song masterclasses with Warren Jones and Marilyn
Horne
Education
1992-93 Greater Hartford Academy for the Performing Arts (CT)
l Performing Arts High School with emphasis on music theory, classical
and jazz piano
1993-97 Ithaca College, BM in Piano
l Teachers: Karl Paulnack, Phiroze Mehta, Xak Bjerken (Cornell
University)
1998-2001 University of Minnesota, MM in Coaching/Accompanying
l
Teachers: Margo Garrett, Karl Paulnack
Other Theatre Experience
2000 Musical Theatre Berlin am Potsdamer Platz (Stella), Rehearsal Pianist
l Accompanied and coached cast changeover rehearsals for Der Glöckner
von Notre Dame, directed by James Lapine
2000 Lakeshore Players (MN), Musical Director
l Conductor for the musical Sweet Charity
1997-98 Dillingham Players (NY), Musical Director
l Conducted productions of Passion and Sunday in the Park with George
(Sondheim)
1997-98 Hangar Theatre (NY), Musical Director, Composer
l Assistant Conductor, Camelot
l Musical Director, Old Wicked Songs by Jon Marans
l Musical Director, Hangar Lab Company (children’s theatre)
l Composed incidental music for the play The Velveteen Rabbit
l Sound designer for La Belle et la Bète
1997 The Producer’s Club Theatre (NYC), Composer
l Co-wrote the score to Dissection, a one act musical, in collaboration with
students from the NYU Theatre Dept.
1997 (summer) College Light Opera Company (MA), Coach/Accompanist
l Rehearsal pianist and coach, A Little Night Music, The Yeomen of the
Guard, The Pirates of Penzance, Countess Maritza, On the 20th Century,
Call Me Madame, Me and My Girl, and Annie Get Your Gun
1994-97 Ithaca College Theatre, Coach/Accompanist
l Rehearsal and orchestral pianist for productions of 1776, Grand Hotel, and
The Pajama Game
Recent Recital and Chamber Work
l
l
l
l
l
The Many Faces of Charles Ives, with Robert Gardener, baritone
Co-founder and co-music director of Fusion Chamber – May 2007,
conductor for Pierrot Lunaire, Randall Scotting, countertenor and Miss
Donnithorne's Maggott and Eight Songs for a Mad King (P.M. Davies)
Mahlerfest – January 2006-8, Boulder, CO. with Patrick Mason, baritone
and Julie Simson, mezzo-soprano
Boulder Chamber Orchestra Chamber Music Series – October 2007,
Arensky trio
Berton Coffin Memorial Concert – September 2007, Boulder, CO. with
Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano
Honors and Awards
l
l
l
l
Third Place, National Opera Association Competition 2010, Our Town
Merola Career Grant (2004)
University of Minnesota Denny Fellowship
Music Academy of the West Bernstein Fellowship
Other important performances
l
l
l
Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 20 in d minor with the Hartford Symphony
Orchestra (concerto competition finalist) (1993)
Selected by Maestro Akira Mori to perform Petroushka with the
University of Minnesota Orchestra and Bloomington Symphony Orchestra
at a series of concerts
Accompanied Minnesota Orchestra concertmaster Jorja Fleezanis on a live
broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion
References
Patti Peterson, Berton Coffin Chair, Voice Department, University of Colorado
[email protected]
303-492-5866
John Baril, Music Director, Central City Opera
[email protected]
303-292-6500
Julie Simson, Voice Faculty, Rice University
[email protected]
303-915-4583
Karl Paulnack, Dean of the Music School, Ithaca College
[email protected]
Floyd Anderson, Artistic Associate, The Minnesota Opera
[email protected]
612-333-2700
Reviews
What I can tell you now is that this was a great production, owing in no small part to the
assured and sensitive conducting from Christopher Zemliauskas. The Maestro got
maximum effect from Rorem’s small orchestration, eliciting a great variety of color and
even a suggestion of plush ensemble from his small, talented group. His coordination
with the stage was immaculate, and he drew exceptionally sensitive singing from the
soloists as well as Levi Hammer’s well-tutored chorus. (Our Town, CCO)
-Opera Today, July 2013
Tying everything together was the sensitive, well-paced conducting of Christopher
Zemliauskas. (Our Town, CCO)
-Opera News, October 2013
This production premiered Saturday under the baton of Christopher Zemliauskas,
assistant musical director of the University of Colorado opera program. Zemliauskas has
already proved himself as a conductor of modern American opera, including last spring's
sensational "Little Women" at CU. (Our Town, CCO)
-Boulder Daily Camera, July 2013
Conductor Christopher Zemliauskas deftly directs the small ensemble, whose imaginative
percussion section lends a particularly illustrative wealth to the score. (Little Women, CU)
-Boulder Daily Camera, April 2013
- and everything else in this production hits the right notes, from conductor Christopher
Zemliauskas’s sensitive and stylish orchestral accompaniment, to the crisp and powerful
chorus, to the opulent diagonal sets from the University of Colorado opera department.
The mastery of Zemliauskas and the orchestra was evident from the first bars - heard
again at the beginning of the final act - which created a mood both gentle and tragic. The
rhythm was supple throughout, and Zemliauskas always puts the singers first, always
supporting but never overpowering. (La Traviata, Opera Theatre of the Rockies)
-Colorado Springs.com, March, 2012
Christopher Zemliauskas, known as an excellent pianist and vocal coach, conducted the
orchestra with radiant brilliance. More than anything, it is this aspect -- the full
symphonic accompaniment with which the show was meant to be heard -- that epitomizes
things opera companies can do that smaller community theater groups cannot. And in
passages such as the extraordinary and tremendous ballet sequence that ends Act I, where
nobody is singing but the musical element is vital, it is a contribution that is as essential
to the overall effect as anything happening onstage. (Oklahoma!, Central City Opera)
-Boulder Daily Camera, July, 2012
Conductor Christopher Zemliauskas showed clear sympathy with Britten’s relentlessly
witty score and drew worthy playing from the orchestra, bringing out Britten’s
imaginative effects and musical rimshots. (Albert Herring, Northwestern University)
-Chicago Classical Review, May, 2012
Christopher Zemliauskas, the company's assistant musical director, conducts the small
ensemble with relish and skill. This was particularly apparent in the musical interludes
over scene changes... The score is a workout, but one that must be rewarding for the
players. (Albert Herring, CU Opera).
-Boulder Daily Camera, April 2009
It has been 22 years since the (Colorado Symphony) last tackled Igor Stravinsky's
Symphony in Three Movements, which was completed in its present form in 1945.
This edgy, modernist work possesses a blunt, geometric feel, with extended, sometimes
discordant harmonies, iterative passages that seem almost minimalist and unexpected
instrumental combinations, such as pairing piano and trombone. The piano is unusually
prominent, with percussive and concerto-like roles, and Christopher Zemliauskas handled
both adroitly.
-Denver Post, March 2009
Christopher Zemliauskas led a stirring reading, making Act I's "A Weekend in the
Country" finale particularly enjoyable (A Little Night Music, CCO).
-Opera News, October 2009
Among the many musical offerings across Colorado this summer, Central City Opera's
production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music is sure to stand out.
... it was the spirited score in mostly three-quarter waltz time — skillfully conducted by
Christopher Zemliauskas — that triumphed in this generally droll, pleasing musical farce
on the irony, and eventual happy ending, of interrelationships.
-Denver Post, July 2009
CCO makes much of 'A Little Night Music'...Conductor Christopher Zemliauskas has a
fine finger on Sondheim's score...
-Boulder Daily Camera, July 2009
Lucia provides an opera chorus with a field day, and the ensemble has been perfectly
prepared by Christopher Zemliauskas, a member of the University of Colorado faculty.
-Boulder Daily Camera, June, 2009
Wednesday night, Benjamin Britten's gripping "Curlew River" and Henry Purcell's "Dido
and Aeneas" served as complementary platforms from which to showcase the collective
talent of this year's 30 young singers in semi-staged settings
The simple, sparse atmosphere of St. James Methodist Church ideally framed the pathosfilled opera that Britten composed in 1964. CCO apprentice tenor Joseph Holmes
delivered a stand-out, career-defining performance of the Madwoman, bringing to this
main character a deeply-felt sense of desolation and, ultimately, transcendence.
Other strong performances from the purposefully all-male cast of "Curlew River"
included Samus Haddad's Ferryman, Aaron Agulay's Traveler, David Govertsen as the
Abbott, and several beautifully executed instrumental passages -- all under the expert
direction of Christopher Zemliauskas.
- Denver Post, August 2008
By the way, the pianist who is the backbone of the mini-ensemble is Christopher
Zemliauskas of the University of Colorado faculty (The Rape of Lucretia).
-Boulder Daily Camera, June 2008
Christopher Zemliauskas' (Susannah) chorus nicely captured the religious fervor of the
townsfolk.
- Rocky Mountain News, July 2008
The chorus was superbly rehearsed by Christopher Zemliauskas, a University of
Colorado faculty member (Cendrillon).
- Boulder Daily Camera, July 2007
The chorus, too - prepared by Christopher Zemliauskas - was as polished and nimble as
the CCO orchestra (La Traviata).
- Denver Post, July 2007