Joseph Illick

We are honored to have Joseph Illick as our Artistic Director and Conductor. Joseph is currently the Composer in Residence and Music Director Emeritus of the Fort Worth Opera. Over the past 50 years, he has held numerous prestigious conducting and leadership posts in opera and symphony. He is an internationally acclaimed pianist in solo and chamber music, as well as an award-winning composer.

For ten years, Joseph served as the Executive and Artistic Director of Performance Santa Fe. His experience includes serving as Artistic Director of Greater Miami Opera, Lake George Opera Festival, Shreveport Opera, Voices of Change (Dallas), and Voces Intimae (Dallas). As a concert pianist, he won first prize at the Mid-Somerset Festival in Bath, England, and he continues to perform as a soloist and chamber musician in Europe and the United States. He is the recipient of the Van Someren Award for composition of a song cycle, and over the course of his career he has composed numerous full-length operas and symphonic works.

He and his wife, Gina, are committed to educational outreach and to mentoring the next generation of musicians.