LEADERSHIP

Jacques Lacombe, O.C., O.Q., Artistic Director

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the OCM and Music Director of the Vancouver Opera, Jacques Lacombe has previously been Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Bonn Opera in Germany, Music and Artistic Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Mulhouse in France, and Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières. From 2002 to 2006, he was principal guest conductor of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

He has collaborated with renowned soloists such as Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Sarah Chang, Yo-Yo Ma, Branford Marsalis, Gil Shaham, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, André Watts, Diana Damrau, Joyce DiDonato, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Frederica von Stade, Roberto Alagna, José Cura, Dimitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel.

In addition to his numerous collaborations with many orchestras in North America such as orchestras in Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Montréal, Jacques Lacombe has worked in Europe among others with the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre Lamoureux and orchestras in Malaga, Monte-Carlo, Nancy, Nice, Seville and Toulouse as well as many orchestras in Oceania and in Asia.

He has conducted numerous opera productions in some of the most important opera houses, including Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Bayerisches Staatsoper in Munich, Teatro Regio in Turin, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Opéra National du Rhin and of Lorraine as well as productions in Marseille, Monaco, Montreal, Nantes and Angers, Philadelphia, Seville and Vancouver.

He is a Chevalier of the Ordre national du Québec and a Member of the Order of Canada.

For more information on maestro Lacombe’s career, please visit his website : www.jacqueslacombe.com

Jacques Lacombe

Taras Kulish, Executive Director

A native Montrealer of Ukrainian heritage, Taras speaks five languages and has over 30 years of experience in the music industry. For 18 years, he was a professional opera singer who performed with opera companies all over North America and Europe. Since 2005, Taras is now passionately focused on arts management.

Taras was the Executive director of the OCM from 2013 to 2016, then returned to the organization since 2018. He was the Interim Artistic Director at Calgary Opera from 2016 to 2018. From 2013 to 2016 when Taras was the Executive Director of the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the organization doubled its budget in less than three years and erased its deficit. Taras continues this strong work with the OCM until present day. 

From 2005 to 2012, Taras was the founding Artistic Director of the Green Mountain Opera Festival, a successful regional opera festival based in Central Vermont. He built this festival from the ground up, acquiring a strong hands-on approach to producing opera at the highest possible level. He quickly built an excellent reputation in the industry by presenting quality productions of the most popular works featuring renowned artists. Under Taras’ leadership, this successful organization tripled its budget while remaining fiscally prudent.

Taras studied Economics at Concordia University in Montreal, a Bachelor of music at McGill’s Schulich School of Music and a master’s level opera diploma at the University of Toronto.

For more information on Taras’ career, please visit his personal website: www.TarasKulish.com

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