AboutOpera Parallèle

Nicole Paiement has gained an international reputation as a conductor of contemporary music and opera. Her numerous recordings include many world premiere works.

Maestro Paiement’s 2012 Dallas Opera debut conducting Peter Maxwell Davies’ 1979 thriller, The Lighthouse earned rave reviews. Subsequently, Paiement was appointed Principal Guest Conductor at The Dallas Opera. Paiement has since returned to Dallas to conduct performances of Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, as well as the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated world premiere of Joby Talbot’s opera Everest, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma. In 2018, Paiement conducted the US premiere of Michel Van Der Aa’s Sunken Garden.

Founder and Artistic Director of San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle, Paiement has conducted many new productions, including: world premieres of Lou Harrison’s final version of Young Caesar, Dante De Silva’s commissioned opera Gesualdo, Prince of Madness (presented as a graphic opera), Luciano Chessa’s commissioned opera A Heavenly Act, the commissioned chamber version of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the premiere of the re-orchestration of Terence Blanchard’s Champion in collaboration with SFJAZZ Center; West Coast premieres of John Rea’s re-orchestration of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Philip Glass’ Orphée; Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts; Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar; Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias; Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny Songspiel; American Premieres of Adam Gorb’s Anya 17 and Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness; the San Francisco Bay Area return of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking; a new production of Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse; Philip Glass’ Les Enfants Terribles; and Jonathan Dove’s Flight. In 2017/18 Paiement conducted a new double bill of Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in collaboration with SFJAZZ, as well as Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. Opera Parallèle made its debut at Phillip Glass’ Days & Nights Festival in the 2018/19 season with Glass’ In the Penal Colony. That season also featured Paiement conducting the world premiere performances of Today it Rains, a commissioned opera by Laura Kaminsky based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, and the return of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. Most recently with OP, Paiement was conductor for the company’s groundbreaking film project, Everest – A Graphic Novel Opera.

Ms. Paiement is a very active guest conductor. In 2019, she made her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago with Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as well as performances with the Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival (2016 – 2018) and a debut at Seattle Opera with Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Other prior engagements include Talbot’s Everest with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Puts’ Silent Night at The Atlanta Opera and Washington National Opera for the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s The Dictator’s Wife. In 2019 Paiement also conducted the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You with Merola Opera Program, San Francisco.

Mo. Paiement made her debut at L’Opéra de Montréal with the Canadian premiere of Benjamin’s Written on Skin in January 2020 and with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in November 2020. Upcoming engagements include a concert performance with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, Italy in January 2022, followed by her UK premiere in November 2022 with the English National Opera. Paiement will return to the UK in June 2023 to conduct Talbot’s Everest with the BBC Symphony at the Barbican Center, London. Mo. Paiement will also return to the Dallas Opera in April 2022 to conduct Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers and to L’Opéra de Montréal in Season 22/23.

Paiement has served as the Artistic Director of the BluePrint Project at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works from many living American composers. At SFCM, she holds the Jean and Josette Deleage Distinguished Chair in New Music. Paiement previously served as the Director of Ensembles at the University of California – Santa Cruz (UCSC), where she was awarded the UCSC Eminent Professor Award in 2014. She received the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship in 2015 in recognition of her outstanding contributions and achievement in artistic scholarship and teaching.

Paiement was awarded American Composer’s Forum’s “Champion of New Music Award” for her outstanding contributions to contemporary music in 2016. In addition to being a leader in the world of contemporary opera, Ms. Paiement is also a specialist in early 20th Century French music and regularly conducts music from the Baroque and Classical repertoire.

Daniel Harvey is an experienced creative professional with 13+ years experience in artistic, administrative, and production roles across the creative sector. Currently as Artistic Producer & Community Director for Opera Parallèle in San Francisco, he works as a key member of the artistic team producing all of the company’s main stage productions, as well as overseeing all community programming and partnerships. In this role, he created Expansive a new annual showcase event for transgender classical artists in partnership with the Transgender District SF. Daniel’s background in set & costume design, and theatre production informs his current work as a creative producer.

Daniel is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia and moved to San Francisco in 2017. In the Bay Area, Daniel has also previously worked as a program director for Intersection for the Arts and served on the board for contemporary dance company LEVYdance. His costume designs can also be seen occasionally on stages around San Francisco. Daniel is known as a persistently positive ‘jack-of-all-trades’ and collaborative team member with a passion for storytelling and a strong belief in the change it can affect.

Brian Staufenbiel is the creative director for Opera Parallèle where he has directed and created the conceptual designs of the company’s productions since it was founded in 2010. Specializing in multimedia, immersive, and interdisciplinary productions, he actively works across a wide range of artistic disciplines collaborating in film and with media designers, choreographers and dancers, circus artists, and designer fabricators. His progressive approach to stagecraft has garnered critical acclaim for many of the company’s productions, including Wozzeck, Orphée, Champion, Dead Man Walking, and The Shining. Next season includes a world premiere production of Cuomo and Patrick’s Doubt, with Opera Parallèle and Philip Glass’ La Belle et la Bête, at Cal Performances, with reprisal productions of The Shining at Portland Opera, Utah Opera and Opera Tampa, and Fellow Travelers at Pittsburgh Opera. Last season included world premiere productions of Hanlon and Fleischmann’s Pigeon Keeper, Wallace and Korie’s Harvey Milk Reimagined, and Talbot and Scheer’s Everest at the Planetarium. Recent works include OP’s west coast premiere of Fellow Travelers by composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce, Golijov’s Ainadamar for L’Opera de Montréal and Pacific Opera Victoria.  Other recent works included new productions of Moravec and Campbell’s The Shining and Birds and Balls; the west coast premiere of composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek’s Vinkensport, combined with Balls, a World Premiere by composer Laura Karpman and librettist Gail Collins. He co-directed, with choreographer Yayoi Kambara, IKKAI, a dance installation about Japanese incarceration camps in the United States during World War II, which was performed at Georgia Tech.

Calvin Eng is Opera Parallèle’s Finance Director and an experienced finance & administration professional with an extensive career in both the non-profit and commercial sectors. He believes that the performing arts are vital to our society and help to build a more equitable and cohesive community.

Most recently, Calvin was Interim Managing Director & Interim Director of Finance & Administration at the Freight & Salvage, a non-profit performing arts organization in Berkeley, CA focused on traditional music, and is a current member of their Board of Directors. Previously, he served almost 2 decades as Chief Financial Officer at Cal Performances on the UC Berkeley campus. Calvin holds an MBA degree in Finance from the University of Washington and BS degree in Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences from UC Berkeley.

Phil Lowery is a Bay Area based stage director, production manager, educator, and an AEA actor and stage manager. His work in opera and operetta began in the early 1990s, as co-founder and Producing Artistic Director of Berkeley Contemporary Opera. He served on the Board of Westwind International Folk Ensemble, and produced several of their home seasons; was a Resident Artist (actor and teaching artist) with San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and later served as their Education Director; he has been the Production Manager for the Sing For America Foundation since its inception; and he has toured dozens of operettas around the Bay Area with Lamplighters Music Theatre, on staff as Production Coordinator. He has directed for companies such as Berkeley Opera, Just Opera, Lamplighters Music Theatre, Lyric Theatre of San Jose, North Bay Opera, Pocket Opera, and several independent productions with partners such as Composers Inc, Earplay, Ninth Planet, and Redwood Symphony.

Pamela Sevilla is thrilled to return to Opera Parallèle as the second Marketing Director in company history.  Pamela is an experienced nonprofit arts marketer with a successful record of growing and cultivating audiences at San Francisco Opera, whose roles included Single Ticket Manager and Sr. Manager of Creative and Digital; as well as Opera San José, Bocón, and Native Voices at the Autry. Her passion for the arts extends to all forms of live performance and is an accomplished singer, actor, and dramaturg focused on new play development. She also shares her expertise by volunteering with mission based organizations that support the AAPI community and local neighborhoods. Pamela holds an MA in Theatre Arts and a BA in Theatre Performance from San Diego State University.

Katrina is an arts fundraiser with a passion for connecting donors and patrons to the art they love. New to the Bay Area, she comes to Opera Parallèle from the Seattle Symphony where her most recent role was Development Communications Manager. Prior to Seattle Symphony, Katrina worked at the Seattle Opera and Meany Center for the Performing Arts. Katrina has a background in classical voice, and holds Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from University of Puget Sound and Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from University of Washington. Katrina’s musical background has led her to a strong interest in contemporary opera, and she is thrilled to be combining her passions for contemporary opera and fundraising in her role as Development Manager. 

Takiyah Franklin is a vocal performing and recording artist, arts administrator, and community engagement strategist whose work is grounded in creativity, equity, and collective belonging. Born and raised in Oakland, California, she is a longstanding member of the region’s arts community, bringing experience as a songwriter, recording artist, and rollerskating performer, with a passion for equity and inclusion that uplifts diverse voices and cultural expression.

Takiyah’s background includes several years at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute, where she supported faculty initiatives, community partnerships, and programming focused on racial equity and social transformation. Her work bridges the arts, education, and public scholarship, with a commitment to creating inclusive spaces where creativity can flourish. She brings a spirit of curiosity, precision, and community-rooted collaboration to advance Opera Parallèle’s mission.

Brett comes to Opera Parallele with a variety of experience in small businesses, event support and financial services for primarily non-profit community, theatre and arts presenting organizations, though he has also owned high-end custom stationery stores in San Francisco, was part of producing team that ran a yearlong production on the life of Buckminster Fuller, and worked on features films in Los Angeles. Brett has a passion for providing opportunities that connect people with new ideas in meaningful and impactful ways, that can change their lives and our communities.

Owen Klein is a composer, performer, and arts administrator from Oakland, CA. He discovered his love of music at an early age by singing in the Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir, taking piano lessons, and playing French horn in Oakland public schools. During his undergraduate years at UC Berkeley, he majored in music and minored in history, sang in the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, served as the President of the Undergraduate Composers Club, and won numerous awards for his academic and musical accomplishments, including the Musical Theater Prize (2022), the Nicola de Lorenzo Prize in Music Composition (2023 and 2024), the Mary Nunes Souza Prize (2023), and a Certificate of Achievement (2025) as a finalist for the prestigious University Medal. After winning the Musical Theater Prize, he composed and directed an original opera based on “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley, which was performed in fulfillment of the award in 2023, and again in a revised form in 2025. Writing and producing “Frankenstein” introduced Owen to arts administration as a career path and he subsequently pursued an internship with Opera Parallele in 2024. Returning to OP in 2025 as the Artistic & Administrative Associate, Assistant to the Artistic Director, he intends to advance OP’s mission of producing groundbreaking opera for the twenty-first century.

A nationally recognized public relations and marketing practitioner with over 25 years of high-level experience in not-for-profit management, Jon is a distinguished professional among industry clients, the press and media, and his peers and colleagues. His collaborative work has generated positive press and media results that have successfully contributed to mission-driven client goals. He is experienced and adept at working with high-profile clients, providing positive pathways to challenging situations, meeting deadlines and managing crisis communications. Jon is the recipient of the 2013 San Francisco Opera Guild Star of Excellence Award.

His association with performing arts businesses include the National Symphony, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Gian Carlo Menotti’s Festival dei due Mondi di Spoleto, Detroit’s Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Pacific, Dayton Opera, and San Francisco Opera. In private practice, his clients have included San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Ballet, SF Ethnic Dance Festival, Chanticleer, Robert Moses’ Kin, Margy Jenkins Dance, Joe Goode, Dame Edna, Eddie Izzard, Eve Ensler/The Vagina Monologues, Rita Moreno, Betty Buckley, Paula West, The Plush Room, the Rrazz Room, and Music at Kohl Mansion.

A passionate believer in the transformative power of art, Elizabeth Brodersen provides consulting services and hands-on stabilizing support to a variety of nonprofit arts organizations, with a focus on holistic interim executive leadership, operations management, administration, grant writing, fundraising, community building, program design, and collaboration creation. Recent engagements have included serving as Grant Writer and Interim Development Director of Opera Parallèle, Interim Executive & Co-Director of Southern Exposure, Interim Executive Director of The Lab, and Vice President, Operations, of PrimeLife Arts Learning. She has also served as Executive Director of Creative Growth Art Center and as Director of Education & Community Programs of American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). Brodersen is a graduate of Princeton University and the Columbia University School of Law and holds an honorary M.F.A. degree from the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program.

Michael Mohammed, researches the representation of performers with historically excluded identities in opera and theatre. He is on faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San José State University, College of Marin, and San Francisco Community Music Center. A stage director, choreographer, and performer, he has co-created work with Amplified Opera, a Toronto-based company that places equity-seeking artists at the center of public discourse. He is an Affiliate Member of the Black Opera Research Network. Having performed with Opera Parallèle on numerous occasions, Michael Mohammed joins the company as Community Engagement Ambassador.

Keisuke Nakagoshi began his piano studies at the age of ten, arriving in the United States from Japan at the age of 18. Mr. Nakagoshi earned his Bachelor’s degree in Composition and Master’s degree in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied composition with David Conte and piano with Paul Hersh. Graduating as the recipient of multiple top awards, Keisuke was selected to represent the SFCM for the Kennedy Center’s Conservatory Project, a program featuring young musicians from major conservatories across the United States.

Mr. Nakagoshi has performed to acclaim on prestigious concert stages across the United States, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, and Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. He has received training from some of the most celebrated musicians of our time—Emanuel Ax, Gilbert Kalish, Menahem Pressler, Robert Mann, Paul Hersh, David Zinman—and enjoys collaborating with other accomplished musicians such as Lucy Shelton, Ian Swensen, Jodi Levitz, Robin Sutherland, Lev Polyakin, Axel Strauss, Mark Kosower, Gary Schocker and also conductors such as Alasdair Neale, George Daugherty, Nicole Paiement, Michael Tilson Thomas and Herbert Blomstedt. In 2014, he made a solo debut with San Francisco Symphony on Ingvar Lidholm’s Poesis with Herbert Blomstedt conducting.

In 2009, Keisuke and Swiss pianist Eva-Maria Zimmermann formed ZOFO, a piano duet team commissioning and performing music for piano four hands and their first CD was nominated for Grammy award for best chamber music/small ensemble in 2013. Mr. Nakagoshi is currently Pianist-in-Residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and he serves as resident pianist in the production team for Opera Parallèle.