2022 vocal competition finals judges
Wendy Hillhouse
Wendy Hillhouse has taught voice at Stanford University since 2010, serving as stage director for musical productions there since 2013. The mezzo-soprano holds degrees from Stanford, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the University of California - Berkeley, and Académie Maurice Ravel, where she studied with Gérard Souzay. She has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival and major opera companies and symphonies in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. Early in her career, Wendy won numerous competitions and awards including the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the Pavarotti International Competition, the Loren L. Zachary Competition, and the Eleanor Steber Competition.
Alexander Katsman
Alexander Katsman has been sought after as a conductor, solo recitalist, collaborative pianist, and opera coach. He recently finished his 22nd year on the coaching staff at the San Francisco Conservatory and recorded two recitals for the St. Paul’s Towers music series. Alex’s conducting credits include over 80 opera, operetta, and musical theater productions. He is a Music Director and Conductor at Livermore Valley Opera and Solo Opera. Since 2018, he also serves on the conducting faculty at the Bach-Millenium Music Summer Program. His most recent production was a highly-acclaimed Verdi’s Otello with tenor Limmie Pulliam in the title role.
Ofer dal Lal
Ofer dal Lal moved to the Bay Area from Israel five years ago and has made a name for himself as conductor of the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir, Mission Peak Chamber Singers, and WomenSing. He serves on the board of Livermore Valley Opera and has served on the faculty of California State University East Bay, teaching choral conducting for graduate and undergraduate students. Mr. dal Lal first came into prominence as the musical director and conductor of the Jerusalem Oratorio Choir.
José Luis Moscovich
José Luis Moscovich has been General Director of West Bay Opera since 2006. He has conducted over 40 operas ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. At West Bay Opera he has premiered productions of Samson et Dalila, Turandot, Salome, Fidelio, Pikovaya Dama, Otello, and others. He was music director of the San Francisco Camerata, principal guest conductor of the ARTEA Orchestra, assistant conductor of the San Francisco Choral Society, and guest conductor for Opera Idaho, Opera Santa Barbara, and Teatro El Círculo Opera in Argentina, among others. His recording of Carlos Franzetti’s opera Corpus Evita, for which he wrote the libretto, was nominated for a GRAMMY® in 2005.
Michele Patzakis
Michele Patzakis is a Los Angeles native and celebrated performer, director, producer and educator. She received critical acclaim as a leading soprano with companies such as the Zürich Opera, Spoleto Festival, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of Toulouse, New York City Opera, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Ms. Patzakis graduated in May 2019 with a DMA from the USC Thornton School of Music. In October of 2018, the Loren L. Zachary Society honored Michele, a former Zachary competition winner, for her years of service to the organization as a competition judge and artistic director.
James Toland
After more than three decades teaching private voice in the San Francisco Bay Area, James Toland moved to Riverside, California to take a position as Professor of Voice and Opera Studies at California Baptist University. Assisting in the development of an opera program at the Collinsworth School of Music, Mr. Toland continues his work on the development of JTVA as well as maintaining a private voice studio.
During the 1980s, Mr. Toland was the artistic director of Oregon’s Eugene Opera where he staged opera for more than a decade. His innovative and highly comedic productions of The Barber of Seville and Cosí fan tutte were featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered." Prior to working in Eugene, he was the company manager of Texas Opera Theater, the touring arm of Houston Grand Opera.
Mr. Toland's keen interest in, and study of, world languages facilitate his work with singers, both individually and in groups. Particularly interested in the specifics of diction, Mr. Toland has undertaken to write a book with the working title "Phonemes First." The book will seek to inform, in easy-to-understand language, how the precision of good diction enables beautiful and healthy singing.