Conductor, Composer, and Producer Anthony J. Maglione is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Houston and Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus. He joins the Moores School of Music faculty from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where he was the Director of Choral Studies and held the Robert H. McKee Chair of Music. Choirs under his direction have appeared at state, regional, and national conventions, released internationally-distributed commercial recordings, and have twice been named “Runner Up” for the American Prize in Choral Performance, College/University Division. A frequent collaborator, he has prepared choirs for performances with the American Spiritual Ensemble, Boston Camerata, The Canadian Brass, Joyce DiDonato, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, The King’s Singers, Kings Return, and the Mark Morris Dance Group.

An often-performed and commissioned composer with a growing national reputation, Maglione’s music has appeared at state, regional, and national-level conventions, on TV, in video games, and has been recorded on Albany Records, Centaur Records, GIA Choral Works, and Gothic Records. Several of his choral works are published on James Jordan’s “Evoking Sound” choral series through GIA Publications as well as “The Amanda Quist Signature Choral Series” on Gentry Publications. In 2018, Maglione’s cantata for soloists, choir, and orchestra, The Wedding of Solomon, premiered at the American Guild of Organists National Convention. The Miami University Men’s Glee Club premiered Maglione’s On Life at the 2019 National ACDA Conference. In early 2020, Verdigris Ensemble premiered his extended dramatic work Dust Bowl as part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Elevator Project in Dallas, Texas. Dust Bowl was recently revised and performed again in 2024 at the Wyly Theatre in Dallas through funding in-part from the National Endowment of the Arts. From 2023 to 2025, Maglione served as Composer-In-Residence with Te Deum, a professional choir based in Kansas City.

As a producer, Maglione lends his ears to recording projects around the country and recently received national attention through his production work with Sam Brukhman and Verdigris Ensemble on Betty’s Notebook  by composer Nicholas Reeves. This ground-breaking, programmable art music is the first of its kind and the first to be sold using blockchain technology.

As a tenor, Maglione has appeared with renowned organizations such as Artefact Ensemble, Cappella Romana, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, Kantorei KC, The Same Stream, The St. Tikhon Choir, Sunflower Baroque, and Spire Chamber Ensemble.

A sought-after clinician and frequent guest conductor, Maglione teaches workshops and has conducted All-State and honor choirs in California, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, East Carolina University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Houston Symphony Chorus is the official choral unit of the Houston Symphony and consists of highly skilled and talented volunteer singers. Over the years, members of this historic ensemble have learned and performed the world’s great choral orchestral masterworks under the batons of Juraj Valčuha, Andrés Orozco Estrada, Hans Graf, Christoph Eschenbach, Robert Shaw, and Helmuth Rilling, among many others.

In addition, the Chorus enjoys participating in the Houston Symphony’s popular programming under the batons of conductors such as Steven Reineke and Michael Krajewski. Recently, the ensemble sang the closing subscription concerts with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic. Singers are selected for specific programs for which they have indicated interest. A singer might choose to perform in all 45 concerts, as was the case in a recent season, or might elect to participate in a single series. The Houston Symphony Chorus holds auditions by appointment and welcomes inquiries from interested singers.

Internationally revered for her lyric vocal beauty and commanding theatrical presence, Karita Mattila continues to captivate audiences worldwide in a career spanning more than four decades. The Finnish soprano has garnered critical acclaim for her dramatic portrayals and celebrated interpretations of 20^th-century and contemporary repertoire.

This season begins with a return to her native Finland for the closing concert at the Sibelius Festival in Lahti, a recital in Iitti, and masterclasses at the Finnish National Opera followed by returns to NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Dresdner Philharmonie for concert performances of Elektra.

Highlights from last season include returns to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for Jenůfa; the National Theatre Prague for Jenůfa; Opéra national de Paris for Suor Angelica; ABAO Bilbao Opera for Suor Angelica; and the Gran Teatre del Liceu for Rusalka.

Operatic highlights of Mattila’s recent seasons include Salome at Opéra National de Paris, Canadian Opera Company, and Houston Grand Opera; Elektra at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Suor Angelica at the Salzburg Festival; La voix humaine at Finnish National Opera; Jenůfa in Claus Guth’s award-winning production at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Lohengrin at the Savonlinna Festival; and The Makropulos Case at Opéra national de Paris.

Mattila is a two-time Grammy Award winner for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under Sir Georg Solti and Jenůfa under Bernard Haitink. Her extensive discography includes Vier letzte Lieder under Claudio Abbado (Deutsche Grammophon) and her 40^th birthday concert from Helsinki (Ondine).

Her distinguished career has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Order of the Lion of Finland (First Class Commander), Musical America’s Musician of the Year, the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, and the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for her performances in Jenůfa and The Makropulos Case.

Mattila studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Liisa Linko-Malmio and later with Vera Rózsa. A sought-after mentor, she has recently led masterclasses at the Peabody Institute, Lauluakatemia Helsinki, the Birgit Nilsson Museum, Wigmore Hall (in partnership with the Sibelius Academy and Keval Shah), and Savonlinna Music Academy.

Rob Melrose is the Artistic Director of Alley Theatre, where he has directed productions of The Da Vinci Code, The Glass Menagerie, The Janeiad, Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium, Pictures from Home, The Servant of Two Masters, Born with Teeth, Sweat, The Winter’s Tale, 1984, and Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. He also adapted and directed A Christmas Carol.

Melrose was formerly the Artistic Director and co-founder of the Cutting Ball Theater. He has directed at The Public Theater, The Guthrie Theater, Asolo Repertory Theatre, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Magic Theatre, The Old Globe, PlayMakers Rep, and Black Box Theatre, as well as Actors’ Collective, The Gamm Theatre, and Crowded Fire, among others.

He has taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, USF, the University of Rhode Island, and Marin Academy. He has a BA in English and Theater from Princeton University and an MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Rob directed Strindberg’s Svarta Handsken (The Black Glove) in Stockholm, Sweden, at Strindberg’s Intimate Theater. His translations of Woyzeck, Ubu Roi, and Pelleas & Melisande have been published by EXIT Press. He has written a number of plays including: Helen of Troy, The Flat Earth, Divorsosaurus, When Human Voices Wake Us, Asylum, and Serpentyne and has written a rock musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s Ozma of Oz.

Thanks to a generous grant from the Roy Cockrum Foundation, he is excited to be directing an unabridged, six-hour, two-part production of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt at Alley Theatre in the Fall of 2027 in a new translation by Paul Walsh.

Lisa McCarroll is an award-winning pianist from Derry, Northern Ireland, and has performed extensively throughout Europe and the United States as a soloist and collaborative pianist. Lisa has enjoyed the stage with established artists such as Grammy Award-winning soprano Jessica Jones; British opera and West End star, baritone Rodney Earl Clarke; clarinetist and artistic director of Sydney Omega Ensemble David Rowden; and award-winning Colombian percussion ensemble Tamborimba. Her playing has been described by critic Bryce Morrison as “a technique that disguises technique, and an art that disguises art.”

A passionate advocate of Irish and Northern Irish classical music, Lisa has made it her mission to promote and perform works from her native country around the world. A primary focus of her work is the two-piano repertoire of Enniskillen-born composer Joan Trimble. Responsible for several U.S. premieres of Trimble’s works, Lisa performed The County Mayo for baritone and two pianos at the 2013 Texas Music Festival Grand Finale Concert, which was broadcast on KUHA 91.7 FM. The William J. Flynn Irish Cultural Center at University of St. Thomas featured Lisa in their 2019 concert series, performing a completely Irish chamber music program with repertoire by Joan Trimble, E. J. Moeran, and Frank Martin. In 2021, Lisa recorded two of Trimble’s most famous and celebrated two-piano works, The Green Bough and The Humours of Carrick, with her brother, pianist Paul McCarroll, at the Moores Opera Center for the University of Houston’s virtual piano series “Piandemia.”

Lisa holds a bachelor’s and LRAM degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Houston, Texas. Lisa is indebted to the many distinguished artists she has worked with throughout her career such as Frank Heneghan, Nancy Weems, Timothy Hester, Diana Ketler, Patsy Toh, Michael Dussek, Petras Geniušas, Michael Young, Boris Berman, Anne Epperson, Daniel Sher, Martin Jones, Jun Kanno, Luíz de Moura Castro, Andrew Brownell, Jan Cap, Réamonn Keary, and Fanny Waterman.

Chris is delighted to be performing with the Houston Symphony for the first time. He is a veteran actor who was last seen at the Houston Grand Opera as the Detective in their acclaimed production of Porgy and Bess.

Other favorite roles include Alan in God of Carnage and Jason in Medea at the Dallas Theater Center; the title roles in both Cyrano de Bergerac and Macbeth at Shakespeare Dallas; and Michael Centanni in Wil Calhoun’s Leavings at the Circle Repertory Company in New York.

In addition to his work in the theater, Chris has appeared in numerous commercials and television programs, has voiced a variety of characters in the English language versions of popular anime shows, and is an experienced motion capture actor whose work can be seen in the recently released video games, Doom: The Dark Ages and Borderlands 4.

He is also the father of seven-year-old triplet daughters. As a result, he needs a nap even as you read this.

Luis Quintero is an actor, composer, fight choreographer, and award-winning playwright. His Hip Hop adaptation of Medea, produced by Red Bull Theater, was nominated for four Lucille Lortels and two Drama Desk Nominations with a win in playwriting from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Artists (HOLA).

He is a bi-coastally based artist working from Houston and New York. Locally he attended Seven Lakes High School in Katy. Upon graduating from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, he has appeared in Houston theaters including A.D. Players, Stages, Fourth Wall Theatre Company, and The Alley.

Regionally he has performed all around the United States including The Old Globe San Diego, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The North Carolina Symphony, and Hudson Valley Shakespeare. Yearly, Luis can be seen across the way in A Christmas Carol at the Alley Theater.

Upcoming writing commissions include The Minotaur with Hudson Valley Shakes and Phaedra with Red Bull Theater and the Alley. He would like to thank his mother, father, brother, and partner Beth for all of their support as well as the Houston Symphony for the opportunity to strut the boards.

Alexandra Szeto-Joe is a professional actress and theater artist based in both Houston and New York City. Fun fact: Alexandra grew up playing the harp! So she is delighted to be back in an orchestral environment performing with instruments she knows and music she loves.

Alexandra has performed with other companies such as The Alley Theatre, Stages Houston, Capital Repertory Theater, Catskill Mountain Shakespeare, and Houston Grand Opera. She has had the privilege of heading several regional and American premieres, including but not limited to Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d (The Alley Theatre), The Chinese Lady (Stages Houston), Becky Nurse of Salem (Capital Repertory Theater), POTUS (Stages Houston), Emojiland: The Musical (Tapestry Players), and the Christmas at Pemberley series at Main Street Theater (2021-2023).

Alexandra was recently named a standout actor in Houston Press’s “Ones to Watch in Houston’s Theater Scene 2025–26,” and also was named a finalist for Best Supporting Actress last year for her portrayal of Irina in Three Sisters at Classical Theatre Company. Alexandra holds a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Big love to her mom and big brother for all their support!!

Kaylee Sarton McCray (she/her) is a Houston-based stage manager, primarily in theatre and musical theatre, although she’s dabbled in music and dance. She has been on the stage management team at Alley Theatre for nearly 15 productions, including titles such as English, The Da Vinci Code, The Glass Menagerie, and Jane Eyre.

She has a special love for the collaborative nature of new work—a selection of new titles at the Alley and other institutions around Houston include Cowboy Bob, Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me a Soprano, a new translation of Chekhov’s Little Comedies, A Texas Carol, The Woman in the Mirror, and The Night Shift Before Christmas (and its subsequent remount). Kaylee is very proud to be exercising the “new work” muscles on this hybrid of art forms.

She attained her BFA in Theatre with an emphasis in Design, Technology, and Management from Sam Houston State University. Proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union representing stage managers and actors in the American theatre.

Acclaimed by both musicians and audiences for his dynamic leadership and exhilarating interpretations, Dima Slobodeniouk stands among the most respected conductors today.

Slobodeniouk collaborates with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and NHK Symphony Orchestra.

In the 2025–26 Season, Dima Slobodeniouk returns to the U.S. to lead the New York Philharmonic, as well as the Boston, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and Houston symphony orchestras and makes his debut with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. He opens the season with a return to the Tanglewood Music Festival, where he conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in two programs and leads a performance with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. This summer also sees him with The Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Music Festival and leading the Seoul Philharmonic as part of the Lotte Hall Festival.

Other season highlights include appearances with WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Dresden Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, and Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in a program featuring Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 for the New Year’s Eve concerts and will also lead this work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra to close their 2025–26 Season.

Known for his musical expertise and interpretive depth, Slobodeniouk is also an acclaimed recording artist. Recent notable recordings include Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Nicolas Altstaedt (Alpha) which received an ICMA Award. His latest release on the BIS label features Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements, Symphony in C, and Symphonies of Wind Instruments recorded with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, where he served as Music Director.

Dima Slobodeniouk served as Music Director of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia from 2013 to 2022, Principal Conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2021, and the Artistic Director of the Sibelius Festival.