John Churchwell

John Churchwell (piano) served as head of music for San Francisco Opera for the past 14 years. Prior to this appointment, he served as an assistant conductor for both the Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera. Churchwell has worked on more than 150 productions with conductors including James Levine, Nicola Luisotti, Donald Runnicles, Nello Santi, and Sir Charles Mackerras. A champion of American music, Churchwell prepared the world premieres of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Stewart Wallace/Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter, Philip Glass’ Appomattox, and Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne. More recently, he led the preparation for John Adams’ world premiere of The Girls of the Golden West and the West Coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain.

Along with his work with Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, on the recital stage, Churchwell has partnered with some of today’s most sought-after vocalists, including appearances at the Hollywood Bowl with Ellie Dehn, at San Francisco Symphony with Michael 
Fabiano, and in recitals with Renée Fleming, Sasha Cooke, Lawrence Brownlee, Lisette Oropesa, Joyce DiDonato, Susanna Phillips, and Isabel Leonard.

Churchwell spends his summers at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, where he is Co-Director of the Lehrer Vocal Institute. While there, in addition to chamber music performances and public master classes, Churchwell is instrumental in the training of young singers and apprentice coaches.

Churchwell earned his doctorate from the University of Minnesota and holds a bachelor’s degree in piano from the New England Conservatory and a bachelor’s degree in French from Tufts University. He attended the Merola Opera Program and is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artists Program at the Metropolitan Opera.