Pittsburgh Opera music administrator leaving for Glimmerglass position

Pittsburgh Opera music administrator Chris Powell will leave the company on April 13 to become director of administration and community engagement beginning on April 20 for Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, N.Y. He will oversee marketing, planning, artistic administration, public relations and community engagement.

“This is a really excellent opportunity for Chris,” says the Pittsburgh Opera's general director Christopher Hahn. Hahn hired Powell in 2001.

“He's worked through a range of responsibilities and is in a very good position to move forward in his career,” Hahn says. “Glimmerglass is obviously a very fine festival company and the opportunities this will afford him are great. I'm very happy for him.”

Powell, 43, is a Mt. Lebanon native who graduated from Duquesne University and the University of Miami. He was a winner as a horn player of the Music in Mt. Lebanon competition in 1991. He also was personnel manager from 2005 to ‘09 for the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra during James Levine's tenure with the Boston Symphony and the Tanglewood Festival.

As Pittsburgh Opera's music administrator, Powell has been in charge of procurement of all extra musical instruments, was personnel manager for the chorus and orchestra, in charge of the daily and long term schedules and took care of visa, immigration and other issues for guest artists.

He's also managing director of Three Rivers Ringers, a handbell choir.

Mark Kanny is classical music writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at mkanny@tribweb.com.