Tero Valtonen – Pianist/Répétiteur
Head Coach -Theater Bremen (Germany) 2010/11 Faculty Alumni
Tero Valtonen studied at Sibelius-Academy (Finland) under the guidance of professors Liisa Pohjola and Matti Raekallio. In 1994, he completed his Diploma A in Solo Piano and graduated with a Masters of Music. Mr. Valtonen has also studied opera repetition and conducting with pianist, conductor, intendant Erkki Korhonen and others. Tero Valtonen gave his debut piano recital in 1997 from which he had very positive reviews in The Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s biggest daily paper. He has worked as repetiteur and audition pianist for Finnish regional opera companies as well as appointed accompanist at singing competitions. After a summer at LOSW in 2010, Mr. Valtonen was appointed Head Coach at Bremen Theater.
Joel Ivany – Stage Director
Website:www.joelivany.com 2009 Faculty Alumni
Canadian Stage Director Joel Ivany has directed for Opera Nuova, The Centre for Opera Studies, The U of T Faculty of Music, The University of Western Ontario, Wilfred Laurier University and The New Ideas Festival. He most recently assisted at the Canadian Opera Company on their production of La Bohème. Prior to that he apprenticed under Tim Albery at the COC for their acclaimed production of War and Peace and apprenticed with Paul Curran on his production of Peter Grimes with Washington National Opera.
Directing credits this past season included new work, knotty together in Dublin, Ireland, Hänsel und Gretel in Edmonton, Alberta and Haydn’s La Canterina in Sulmona, Italy. His directing credits include such productions as: Copland’s The Tender Land, Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Associate Stage Director for the Opera School’s production of Handel’s Ariodante.
He is a recipient of numerous scholarships and grants through such funding bodies as the Canada Arts Council and Theatre Ontario. He has worked with directors such as Michael Patrick Albano, Jennifer Tarver and Joshua Major. He holds a music degree from the University of Western Ontario and an artist diploma in Opera Directing from the University of Toronto’s Opera School. Upcoming projects include the world premiere of Dean Burry’s The Secret World of Og with The Canadian Children’s Opera Company in May 2010.