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THE SCOOP | Canadian Opera Company Re-Signs Johannes Debus & Sandra Horst

By Anya Wassenberg on October 17, 2024

L: Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst (Photo courtesy of the artist); COC Music Director Johannes Debus (Photo: Sam Gaetz)
L: Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst (Photo courtesy of the artist); COC Music Director Johannes Debus (Photo: Sam Gaetz)

The Canadian Opera Company has re-signed the musical leadership team of COC Music Director Johannes Debus and Price Family Chorus Master Sandra Horst to extended contracts. The new contracts run through the 2028/2029 season.

The COC made the announcement public via social media.

“Our audiences know that an opera with Johannes at the podium and our chorus led by Sandra will always be an exceptional musical experience. Many congratulations, Johannes and Sandra! We can’t wait to see what incredible performances await.”

Audiences will be pleased at the continuation of what has always been a solid musical foundation to any COC production.

Johannes Debus

A native of Speyer am Rhein in southwestern Germany, Johannes studied at the Hamburg Conservatory, followed by a decade with the Frankfurt Opera as first a pianist, coast, and assistant conductor, then resident conductor. He was hired by the COC starting in the 2009 season after his impressive debut with the company conducting Prokofiev’s War and Peace.

Along with his expected roles conducting, during the pandemic, he worked on a number of digital projects including hosting his well-received Solo Spotlights series, which highlighted musicians of the COC Orchestra. He is currently conducting the COC’s production of Faust, and will conduct La Reine-garçon and Wozzeck later during the 2024/2025 season.

Debus is also sought after as a guest conductor, and has worked with orchestras and festivals such as the BBC Proms, the Boston, Baltimore, Cleveland, Aspen, the National Arts Centre orchestras, among others, at the Spoleto, Bregenz, and Tanglewood festivals. He has worked with opera companies in Europe and the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera in NYC.

In 2021, he co-founded the Biglake Festival in Prince Edward County, Ontario, an annual summer event that includes an opera showcase.

Sandra Horst

Canadian pianist, vocal coach, and choral conductor Sandra Horst earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance with honours from Wilfrid Laurier University, followed by a Master of Music in Accompaniment from New England Conservatory. She then earned a diploma in accompaniment from the professional studies program at the Juilliard School.

Sandra has been with the Canadian Opera Company since 1993, when she became an apprentice coach in the Ensemble Studio. She has led the oft-praised COC Chorus since 1997, and also serves as Director of Musical Studies for Opera at the University of Toronto. Horst is a guest faculty member of Opera in the 21st Century program at the Banff Centre, and co-founded the National Opera Intensive summer program with UofT Opera and Toronto’s Against the Grain Theatre. She frequently serves as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

We’ll look forward to experiencing more of their fine work in the seasons to come.

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