Toronto-born Joshua Major began his opera stage directing career at the age of 23 with La Cenerentola for Opera Omaha. Soon after, Mr. Major worked as an assistant to Rhoda Levine at Juilliard, Cynthia Auerbach at New York City Opera and at the Welsh National Opera. Mr. Major has worked as a stage director for over 30 years throughout the United States and Canada developing an impressive and diverse repertoire of productions. Recent productions Sir John in Love (Vaughan Williams) Un giorno di regno (Verdi) with Odyssey Opera, the North American premiere of Rossini’s La Gazzetta, Die Fledermaus (Strauss), Cosi fan tutte (Mozart) and La Perichole (Offenbach) with the New England Conservatory, and The Cunning Little Vixen (Janacek) for both New England Conservatory and Cape Town Opera. Recent productions for IVAI include Zanetto (Mascagni), L’amico Fritz (Mascagni), Les mamelles de Teresias (Poulenc), L’Impressions de Pelleas (Brook/Debussy), L’enfant et les sortileges (Ravel), and La Fille du Regiment (Donizzetti) In August 2012 Mr. Major began as Chair of Opera Studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston after completing 20 years on the faculty of the University of Michigan where he oversaw the Opera Program, both teaching and directing. Joshua Major was the Artistic Director of the Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF), located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior from 2003-2014. In his tenure at PMMF he produced over 300 concerts of opera, symphony and chamber music. The highlight of his tenure was the commission and production of “Rockland” an opera based on a true story of a tragic miners strike in 1906 Rockland county, Michigan. This international project was the subject of a documentary film entitled “Yoopera” which will be seen on PBS in the Fall of 2015 and at film festivals throughout the country. He continues to be a stage director and faculty member with the International Vocal Arts Institute where he has directed annually (Tel Aviv, New York, Montreal, Virginia) since 1993. Upcoming productions include Leoncavallo’s La Boheme, Offenbach’s Le Mariage aux Lanternes and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.