Musical Powerhouses Strengthen Offerings At Rice's Shepherd School Of Music

Rice University's Shepherd School of Music is celebrating the appointment of alumnus Cristian Măcelaru and the addition of opera luminary Patrick Summers to its faculty. Măcelaru will serve as distinguished visiting artist from the 2025-26 season through 2027-28, building on the conductor's array of international roles in classical music. Summers, the artistic and music director of Houston Grand Opera (HGO), will assume the role of distinguished lecturer in opera studies, collectively bringing unparalleled expertise and a deep commitment to nurturing the next generation of musical talent.

Măcelaru, who studied with the late Larry Rachleff and received degrees from Rice in 2006 and 2008, is currently the music director of the Orchestre National de France and music director designate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. He recently led the Orchestre National de France in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. He also serves as artistic director of the George Enescu International Festival and Competition, artistic director and principal conductor of the Interlochen Center for the Arts' World Youth Symphony Orchestra, music director and conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and chief conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne, Germany, where he will serve through the 2024-25 season and continue as artistic partner for the 2025-26 season. In 2020, Măcelaru received a GRAMMY Award for conducting the Decca Classics recording of Wynton Marsalis' violin concerto with Nicola Benedetti and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

With this new appointment, Măcelaru continues his work as an enthusiastic mentor and advocate for young musicians that includes his work with the Interlochen Center, his programs for young musicians and families at the Cabrillo Festival and the master classes he leads at the George Enescu Festival.

“It's no secret to those who know me that I have always placed an important focus on education and meeting young musicians at all stages of their artistic development,” Mӑcelaru said. “I'm very happy to be more involved working with the highly accomplished young artists at the Shepherd School.”

In his annual residencies, Mӑcelaru will collaborate with Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras Miguel Harth-Bedoya on a range of activities, including coaching ensembles, judging competitions, workshopping new compositions, guiding mock auditions, participating in special projects and helping to mentor both undergraduate and graduate students. 

“Cristian Mӑcelaru's return to the Shepherd School is a homecoming we've all been eagerly anticipating,” said Shepherd School Dean Matthew Loden. “Cristi is a brilliant musician and having him at Shepherd in a more official, ongoing capacity solidifies our commitment to attracting the world's best talent for our students. We are honored to welcome him back to his musical alma mater to guide the next generation of musicians.”

Shepherd School audiences will have the privilege of experiencing his artistry firsthand when he conducts the Shepherd School Orchestras next February.

Summers, who has previously lectured in the Shepherd School's Advanced Opera Studies course on subjects such as the history of opera and important historic singers, has also conducted operas for the Shepherd School such as Floyd's “Susannah” and Handel's “Agrippina” for the opening of Rice's Brockman Hall for Opera. In his new role at Rice, Summers will collaborate closely with Joshua Winograde, director of opera studies, and opera students at the Shepherd School.

“The Shepherd School has a long history of engaging classical music's most illustrious and innovative talent in leadership and faculty posts, and so having Patrick as a lecturer for our students is thrilling for us, and yet it feels only natural,” Winograde said. “He is an opera industry artist, educator, mentor and scholar like no other on Earth. As a graduate of the now Butler Studio of Houston Grand Opera, I was myself the beneficiary of Patrick's unprecedented mentorship in all areas of opera and classical singing. It is a dream come true for our students to learn from and to develop a meaningful relationship with someone like Patrick who is so deeply connected to the global opera scene and responsible for so much of the success of one of America's most important opera houses down the street from us. Patrick's expertise and passion for opera will be an invaluable asset to our program.”

“I am thrilled to be joining Joshua Winograde's new team at the Shepherd School's Opera Studies program,” Summers said. “These brilliant young artists are part of opera's future, and my task is to bring alive for them opera's past, to give a sense of the legacy into which they are emerging. I am very excited to get started.”

Summers brings a wealth of experience with him, having served as HGO's artistic director since 2011 and its music director since 1998. His notable achievements at HGO include conducting the company's first complete cycle of Wagner's Ring, the Verdi Requiem and the American premiere of Weinberg's Holocaust opera “The Passenger.” Summers has also collaborated on numerous world premieres, including works by Tarik O'Regan, André Previn and Jake Heggie.

Beyond HGO, Summers has conducted for Opera Australia, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera. He has a long-standing relationship with the San Francisco Opera, where he was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal in 2015. Summers is also co-artistic director of the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS.

Learn more about the Shepherd School of Music here.

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