Mr. Scheer’s work is noted for its scope and versatility. With the composer Jake Heggie, he has collaborated on many projects, including the critically acclaimed 2010 Dallas Opera world premiere, Moby-Dick, starring Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab; Three Decembers (Houston Grand Opera), which starred Frederica von Stade; and the lyric drama To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), which featured Patti LuPone. Other works by Scheer and Heggie include Camille Claudel: Into the fire, a song cycle premiered by Joyce di Donato and the Alexander String Quartet. Mr. Scheer worked as librettist with Tobias Picker on An American Tragedy, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 and on Therese Raquin which was produced by the Dallas Opera in 2001. Other collaborations include the lyrics for Wynton Marsalis’s It Never Goes Away, featured in Mr. Marsalis’s work Congo Square.  With the composer Steven Stucky, Mr. Scheer wrote the oratorio August 4, 1964, for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The work was nominated for a Grammy in 2012 for best classical composition. In 2015, Mr. Scheer collaborated with Joby Talbot on the opera Everest, based on the doomed 1996 Everest expedition. With Jennifer Higdon, Mr. Scheer wrote an operatic adaptation of Cold Mountain, which premiered in the summer of 2015 at the Santa Fe Opera. This work won the International Opera award, presented in London, for the best World premiere in 2015. Recently, along with Ms. Higdon, Mr. Scheer was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Cold Mountain for best classical composition. In December of 2016 Mr. Scheer and Jake Heggie premiered an operatic adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life for the Houston Grand Opera. Also a composer in his own right, Mr. Scheer has written a number of songs for singers such as Renée Fleming, Sylvia McNair, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Larmore, Denyce Graves, and Nathan Gunn.  The distinguished documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, prominently featured Mr. Scheer’s song “American Anthem” (as sung by Norah Jones) in his Emmy Award-winning World War II documentary for PBS entitled The War.

Conductor, Nicole Paiement is the Founder and Artistic Director of Opera Parallèle (OP) in San Francisco. In 2021, Paiement conducted OP’s new film production Everest – A Graphic Novel Opera by Joby Talbot, a work she originally premiered on stage at The Dallas Opera, where she is Principal Guest Conductor. An active guest conductor, Mo. Paiement made her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2019 with Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and at Opéra de Montréal with the Canadian premiere of Benjamin’s Written on Skin in 2020. In January 2022 Mo. Paiement conducted with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, Italy and will return there for concerts in 2023. Upcoming engagements include her UK debut in November 2022 at the English National Opera conducting Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life, before returning to London in June 2023 to conduct Talbot’s Everest with the BBC Symphony at the Barbican Center. In April 2022 Mo. Paiement returned to the Dallas Opera conducting Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers and she will return to Opéra de Montréal in 2023 for a new production of Golijov’s Ainadamar. In addition to being a leader in contemporary opera, Paiement is also a specialist in early 20th Century French music and regularly conducts music from the Baroque and Classical repertoire. Photo Credit: Cory Weaver.

Mark Simmons is a San Francisco-based freelance artist. His cartooning and sequential art work includes comics for publishers such as Capstone, Behrman House, Madefire, and Rebellion; animation and advertising storyboards; and graphic recording. He also teaches classes in comic art, figure drawing, and wildlife illustration for the Academy of Art University and local zoos and museums. http://www.ultimatemark.com

David Murakami is a projection designer and film director focused on the union between the cinematic and theatrical. Past productions with OP include Dead Man Walking, Heart of Darkness, Champion, Flight, Les Enfants Terribles, and Little Prince. Additional credits include Minnesota Opera’s Das Rheingold and Elektra; and Luis Valdez’ Zoot Suit and Valley of the Heart. Others include Princess Cruises, Opéra de Montréal, and Arizona Opera. David also teaches at the University of California, Irvine. https://davidmurakami.com/projects

Jacquelyn Scott (Scenic Design) is thrilled to make her design debut with Opera Parallele! Jackie works as a production designer, art director, scenic designer and props designer for theater and film across the Bay Area. Her work has been seen at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco Playhouse, Magic Theatre, Shotgun Players, The Cutting Ball Theater, Word for Word, and Z Space. Past favorite credits include: Cabaret (SF Playhouse), Tiny Beautiful Things (SF Playhouse), The Chinese Lady (Magic Theatre), and Hedda Gabbler (The Cutting Ball Theater).

Miles Lassi, is an interdisciplinary artist based out of Oakland, CA. As a musician, has performed in over 150 cities throughout North America, Europe and Asia with many different ensembles ranging from the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall to the national tour of Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage.  https://www.mileslassi.com

Jessica Bejarano is the founder and music director of the San Francisco Philharmonic! She also serves as music director of ELM Youth Orchestra, assistant conductor of Opera Parallèle and music director at Escuela Bilingue Internationale. Jessica is a regular guest conductor with the Antonio Soler Orquestra in Spain and has guest conducted in the Czech Republic, Venezuela, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy and Russia. She has held conducting positions with numerous orchestras throughout the Bay Area and United States. Jessica was named KQED Arts’ Bay Brilliant Top 10 Artists of 2018, was featured by PBS NewsHour as an emerging female conductor to watch and recently featured on NBC’s The Today Show with Natalie Morales as the “Woman Breaking Barriers as a Trailblazing Symphony Conductor.”