Page 6 - NWS December 2024 Digital Playbill

ABOUT the ARTISTS

MICHAEL CHRISTIE Artistic and Music Director
A GRAMMY award-winning and innovative conductor,
®
Michael Christie is at home in both the symphonic and
opera worlds. As Artistic and Music Director of the New
West Symphony, he is focused on making the audience
experience entertaining, enlightening and enriching. The
New West Symphony Board of Directors recently announced
the extension of Christie’s contract through 2029.
Of his opening concert as Music Director in 2019, the Los
Angeles Times reported that the orchestra is “embracing
the mission of refreshing the modern concert experience
for a new generation.”
In November 2024, Christie conducted the world premiere of The Amazing
Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, with music by Mason Bates and a libretto by Gene
Scheer, at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. The opera will subsequently
be performed at The Metropolitan Opera.
Christie’s more than 25-year symphonic conducting career has included serving
as Music Director of the Minnesota Opera (2011-18), Phoenix Symphony (2005-
13), Brooklyn Philharmonic (2005-10), and as Chief Conductor of the Queensland
Orchestra (2001-04) in Australia, as well as guest appearances leading top
orchestras such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, the
Symphonies of Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, and more. He is Music Director Emeritus of
the Colorado Music Festival.
Michael Christie is married to Alexis, a physician, and they have two children.
michaelchristieonline.com

ALAYSHA FOX Soprano
Described as a “shining presence” (Seen and Heard
International), soprano Alaysha Fox is quickly making
her mark in the world of opera. Recently concluding
her tenure with the esteemed Domingo Colburn Stein
Young Artist program at LA Opera, she showcased her
exceptional talent through notable roles including the Fay Fox Photography
female chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia and High
Priestess in Verdi’s Aida.
Recent noteworthy performances include Lady Clarence in Saint-Saens’ Henri
VIII (Bard SummerScape), the Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro (Santa Fe Opera),
Giorgette in Il Tabarro (Opera Santa Barbara), Erstes Mädchen in Hindemith’s Möder
Hoffnung der Frauen (LA Phil), and Mary in the world premiere of Carla Lucero’s The
Three Women of Jerusalem (LA Opera).

6 | New West Symphony