GENERAL DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN OPERA PROJECT MATT GRAY TO STEP DOWN AT MONTH’S END 

Decision comes after almost 20 years with the company,  

with notable accomplishments onstage and off. 

 Former General Director Charles Jarden steps in as Interim General Director. 

NEW YORK -- The American Opera Project (AOP) Board of Directors, led by co-presidents Sarah Moulton Faux and Mark Kalow, announces today that General Director Matt Gray will step down from his role at the end of this month. Gray, whose nearly 20 years with the organization includes four years in the top post, says, “It has finally come time to step away from AOP and pursue some of the personal goals that I have delayed in my years of dedication to AOP’s mission and artists. The decision comes with no small amount of emotion at leaving the AOP family, but any sadness is balanced by the pride of the organization’s accomplishments over the years and the excitement of what new visions will bring to its ongoing success.”  

“Sarah and Mark on behalf of the Board are grateful to Matt for his long service to The American Opera Project. The company would not be where it is today without his dedication and creativity. We wish him all the best.”

The Board of Directors welcomes the return of former AOP General Director Charles Jarden (2002-2019), who will serve as AOP’s interim General Director. Jarden has remained involved with AOP as a member of the Board of Directors and the organization’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. Jarden established AOP's home base in Brooklyn before becoming GD and along with Steven Osgood created the company's training program, Composers & the Voice; he also forged the on-going partnerships with co-producing institutions such as BAM, Lincoln Center, NYC Parks Department, Hunter College and NYU Tisch. Artistic Director Mila Henry, who joined Gray in leading the company since 2019, will remain in her position and assist in the transition. 

Matt Gray began at AOP as an office manager in 2003 while working on independent films and theatre in New York City. He was later promoted to Projects Manager and then, in 2008, Producing Director. He serves as Head of Drama for AOP's opera-writing training program Composers & the Voice and was the company's resident dramaturg and stage director. After helping shepherd hundreds of AOP artists and projects during his time with the organization, including the highly successful opera As One (Kaminsky/Reed/Campbell) and the groundbreaking Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom (Okoye), Gray was promoted to the role of General Director in 2019 alongside Artistic Director Henry, where they led the company through the challenges of the COVID pandemic, introduced a slate of new works into development, commissioned songs reacting to current social issues including Black disenfranchisement and transgender rights, welcomed the most diverse class of fellows into AOP’s opera-writing training program Composers & the Voice, and in July 2022 produced the premiere of Letters That You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War, the company’s first opera entirely created by, starring, and designed by female-identifying artists. 

Founded in 1988, The American Opera Project (AOP) has been at the forefront of contemporary opera for over 30 years. Its works have received critical acclaim at opera companies and venues around the world, establishing a new musical canon that recognizes the operatic story in every life. 

Press for AOP:

"known for bringing cutting-edge vocal productions to the masses" — New York Magazine

"a perfect first exposure to opera." — Time Out NY

"Bravo to AOP for supporting such controversial and ultimately important work." — Opera Today

"The future of American opera is in good hands." — Opera News