Pittsburgh Opera announced the hiring of William Powers as its new General Director, effective 1 July 2026
William Powers will succeed Christopher Hahn who has served as Pittsburgh Opera’s General Director since 2008 and is retiring at the end of the 2025-26 season. Hahn had been Pittsburgh Opera’s Artistic Director from 2000-2008, becoming the second-longest serving in the company’s 87-year history. Richard Karp, the company’s first director, held the position from 1942 to 1977.
During Hahn’s tenure as General Director, the company’s repertoire expanded to include Baroque and contemporary works. In 2017, Pittsburgh Opera produced its first world premiere, The Summer King – the Josh Gibson Story, based on the life and tragic death of the Hall of Fame baseball player who grew up in Pittsburgh. Hahn also expanded Pittsburgh Opera’s prestigious Resident Artist Program, hailed as one of the country’s leading training programs for young singers. In 2008, he led the move of the company to its new home, the Bitz Opera Factory, constructed as George Westinghouse’s original air brake factory in 1869.
William Powers is a veteran artistic administrator with more than 30 years of experience and is no stranger to Pittsburgh Opera. He has deep ties to the cultural life of the city and a proven track record of leadership, artistic vision, young artist development and fiscal acuity. Powers has been the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra since 2021. Before that, he worked at Pittsburgh Opera for 14 years, starting as Director of Artistic Administration, then being promoted to Director of Administration and Artistic Operations, and next to Managing Director.
Powers has held posts with The Juilliard School’s Department of Vocal Arts; in the Artistic Department at The Metropolitan Opera and their Lindemann Young Artist Development Program; as General Director of the Berkshire Opera Company; and seasonal positions with the Aspen Music Festival and The Music Academy of the West.
‘I am both excited and humbled’, says Powers. ‘Pittsburgh Opera has a long, distinguished lineage of General Directors. The company has accomplished great things in its first 87 seasons. I look forward to building on this legacy of artistic excellence, while helping ensure Pittsburgh Opera’s continued long-term fiscal stability’.
Powers earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Hamilton College and an MBA in Finance from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. He is married to soprano Sari Gruber, who serves on the Voice Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University.
Rick Perdian