A former ensemble-in-residence at the University of Washington School of Music, Pacific MusicWorks provides a forum for the artistic vision of conductor and baroque opera specialist Stephen Stubbs. Productions range from chamber music to fully staged operas, engaging internationally renowned artists in collaboration with leading musicians of the Northwest. Audiences of early music enthusiasts are expanding by PMW’s educational offerings that reach from the primary school level through advanced work with young professionals to other members of our community.
Through innovative, internationally acclaimed productions of baroque opera and oratorio, PacificMusicWorks creates an artistic environment that fosters creative dialogue with artists from a broad array of fields and cultures with the goal of providing Seattle and the Pacific Northwest with events worthy of the world stage.
A Seattle native who studied composition, piano, and harpsichord at the University of Washington, Stubbs gained international prominence as an opera director and lutenist during a 30-year career in Europe. Since his return to Seattle in 2006, he has made his mark as a musical director, guest conductor, and founder of organizations devoted to the study and production of baroque opera and oratorio.
His first venture in that direction was the founding of the Accademia d’Amore, a summer institute for pre-professional singers and musicians training in baroque style and stagecraft. In 2008, he founded Seattle’s Pacific MusicWorks, a production company focused primarily on presenting top-quality performances of early music with a contemporary voice. The organization also embraces an educational dictate to train young professional singers and musicians in the art of 17th and 18th century music.
At the University of Washington, Stubbs will apply his expertise in that area during the 2013-14 academic year, preparing School of Music students in voice and instrumental performance to perform side by side with professional musicians and opera singers in the Semele production, set for May 16-18, 2014 at Meany Theater.