BRIAN ONDERDONK

Music Director and Conductor

As Music Director and Conductor for Center Stage Opera during the company's first five seasons, Maestro Brian Onderdonk is extremely pleased to have had the opportunity developing the organization into one of the premiere regional opera houses in the Los Angeles area. As Music Director, he has led the company in fully staged productions of Puccini's Tosca, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and L'Elisir d'Amore, Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro, Verdi's La Traviata and Rigoletto, Gounod's Romeo et Juliette and Faust, as well as a number of orchestral and choral concerts with the company's resident orchestra, including Bizet's Carmen, and Mozart's Requiem.

Since the founding of the company, Mr. Onderdonk has been particularly dedicated to bringing music of the highest caliber to the San Fernando Valley and greater Los Angeles Area, and looks forward to a bright and prosperous future continuing to achieve this goal with Center Stage Opera.
An enthusiastic conductor of all genres, Mr. Onderdonk has a particular passion for opera conducting, sparked by an opportunity to step in for the ailing Music Director of the California State University Northridge Opera Theater and conduct a live performance of Mozart's Cosí Fan Tutte with only a few hours' notice. Since then, he guest conducted performances with the CSUN Opera Theater in a wide range of repertoire, including Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, Britten's Albert Herring, Strauss' Die Fledermaus, and Rogers and Hammerstein's Carousel. Furthermore, in July 2004, he was a guest conductor for performances of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with the Burgas Opera and Philharmonic Society in Bulgaria.

In addition to his work with Center Stage Opera and CSUN, Mr. Onderdonk was invited to step in as guest Music Director of the UCSB Symphony Orchestra during the Spring 2007 quarter to conduct the ensemble's final concert of the academic year. He has also been a regular participant at a number of national and international orchestral conducting workshops and seminars, including workshops with American Symphony Orchestra League and the South Carolina Conductor's Institute, working with such notable conductors as Carl St. Clair, Alasdair Neal, Donald Portnoy and Paul Vermel. Additionally, for five years he held the Conducting Fellowship position with the nationally acclaimed American Youth Symphony led by Los Angeles Philharmonic Concertmaster Alexander Treger.

Brian Onderdonk holds his Master's Degree in Conducting from California State University Northridge, and is currently in the doctoral conducting program at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he is the Assistant Conductor for the IU Opera Theatre and studies conducting with David Effron and Arthur Fagen.

DYLAN F. THOMAS

Director

Dylan F. Thomas is the founder and Artistic Director of Center Stage Opera in Canoga Park, CA, where he has directed full productions of numerous operas, including J. Strauss II's Die Fledermaus, Gounod's Faust, Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Puccini's Tosca, Verdi's Rigoletto, Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Verdi's La traviata, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and Rossini's La cambiale di matrimonio.

Mr. Thomas is one of the creators of a brand new American Opera entitled Marie's Orchard for which he conceptualized the story, inspired by Willa Cather's novel "O Pioneers!", and penned the libretto. He worked closely with composer Philip Westin on the creation of this extraordinary new work, and he will direct the world premiere production of the opera at Center Stage Opera , with performances showing on June 10 and 12, 2011.

As stage director for the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa, CA, Thomas has written and directed numerous shows for the Family Musical Mornings series, including A Halloween Spooktacular (2009/2010), Superheroes!, and a scripted introduction to Mozart's The Magic Flute. In May 2011, he writes and directs a Casablanca-themed show for the Pacific Symphony's annual Gala.

For more information regarding Mr. Thomas, please refer to the Dylan F. Thomas, Librettist Page on this website.

TAWNEE LILLO

Orchestra Manager

Tawnee Lillo received her Bachelor's Degree in Horn Performance from the University of Arizona, and her Master's Degree in the same field from University of Southern California. Her career has recently brought her some great opportunities recording for film and television, including participating in the national tour of Shockwave, and appearing as the French Horn soloist in the Tony Award winning Broadway show, Blast.

SUZANNE SCOTT

Costume Designer

Center Stage Opera credits include: Lucia di Lammermoor, Tosca, Rigoletto, and Marriage of Figaro. Her other work includes: Six Characters in Search of An Author (California State University, Northridge); Voysey Inheritance (Theater 40); Our Town (Actor's Gang); Designated Mourner and Tragedy: A Tragedy (Son of Semele); Surf Orpheus (Ghetty Villa); Christmas Carol (Celebration Theater); A Grand Guignol Children's Show: Not for Children (Art/Works Theater); Fafalo (Ziggurat Theater Ensemble); Studio of Tomorrow (Two Loose Cannons Inc.). She has assisted Ann Closs-Farley (An Evening Without Monty Python), Karen Murk-Potter (Big Love, Romeo and Juliet) and Ellen McCartney ( Tug of War), and was a costume assistant on Crazy Heart. She has constucted costumes for: Traci Lords (Princess of Mars), Target (Mail Bags for the Target Dog), and Six Flags Amusement Parks. She graduated from California Institute of the Arts with her Masters degree in costume design. imdb.com/name/nm1358563.