Eklund Opera Program

The Eklund Opera Program (formerly CU Opera) has been designated a “Program of Excellence” by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. Students from the program have won top awards in the National Opera Association Collegiate Scenes competition 3 out of the last 4 seasons. Undergraduate and graduate students at the College present several major productions each year. These include fully staged and costumed operas and musicals such as "The Rake's Progress," "Le nozze di Figaro," "La Traviata," "Side by Side" by Sondheim and "Carousel." Other performance opportunities for students include an annual student-directed opera scenes program, CU New Opera Workshop, and the Opera Theater Singers.

Students in the College of Music can participate in the Eklund Opera Program by auditioning for roles in the cast or orchestra of a performance. Students will receive academic credit for their participation.

Leigh Holman

Leigh Holman is an established stage director in the fields of Opera and Musical Theatre. As director of the Opera Colorado Ensemble Artists, she has directed two touring productions per season, concerts and other presentations to promote Opera Colorado and the young artists that are contracted into the program. Holman was previously Chair of the Voice and Opera Studies Area at the University of Arkansas, at Little Rock. She directed and performed for such companies and opera institutions as Portland Opera, Nashville Opera, National Opera, Wildwood Opera, Opera Theatre of Fort Collins, University of Colorado, University of Arkansas, Eastman Opera Theatre and others. Read Dr. Holman's full bio.

Nicholas Carthy

Nicholas Carthy, Opera Music Director, studied at the Guildhall School of Music in London with Mary Peppin and John York, and in 1981 won an Austrian government scholarship to study at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Hans Leygraf. After completing his studies he was offered a post as Kapellmeister at the Landestheater in Salzburg where he made his operatic debut conducting Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. During this time he was also an assistant at the Salzburg Festival, working closely with both Bernard Haitink and Sir Georg Solti. Read Dr. Carthy's full bio.

Mutsumi Moteki

Since her college years in Tokyo, Japan, Mutsumi Moteki has been active as a vocal coach/accompanist. She received extensive training in this area from Westminster Choir College and University of Michigan as well as prestigious summer programs such as Music Academy of the West, Steans Institute for Young Artists, Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden bei Wien, and Conservatoire de musique in Genève. She is currently a professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she teaches singing diction and vocal repertoire. Read Dr. Moteki's full bio.

Jeremy Reger

Teaching and mentorship are Reger’s true passions and he’s worked with some of the top vocal performers and coaches in the country, including at the Minnesota Opera, Indiana Opera Theater, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Ann Arbor Opera. In summer 2014 he was a coach and performer at the Opera Studio de Recife in Brazil. Reger has also been on the faculty of Music Academy of the West, and worked for Virginia Opera. A strong supporter of local arts organizations, he has also played with the Virginia Symphony, the Williamsburg Symphonia and the Cantabile Singers Art Song Project. Read Dr. Reger's full bio.