Santa Fe Opera has named pianist and educator Kevin Murphy as Director of the Apprentice Program for Singers.

Moreover, the company revealed that longtime Chorus Director Susanne Sheston will take on the newly created role of Associate Director.

Murphy currently serves as Professor of Music in Collaborative Piano and Director of Coaching and Music Administration at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, a post he has held since 2011. He has also led the Singers Program at Ravinia’s Steans Institute since 2011, and previously held positions at New York City Opera and the Opéra national de Paris. Earlier in his career Murphy became the first pianist and vocal coach to join the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, later serving as an assistant conductor at the Met from 1993 to 2006.

“Kevin Murphy is one of the most respected teachers, mentors, coaches and conductors of young singers working today, and we are thrilled to welcome him into this important leadership role,” said General Director Robert K. Meya, per an official press release.

Meanwhile, Sheston made her company debut as Chorus Director in 2008 and has since prepared the Santa Fe Opera Chorus, drawn largely from the Apprentice Program, across nearly two decades of repertory.

The pair will lead the training program, established in 1957 as part of John Crosby’s founding vision for the company. Each summer roughly 40 singers are selected through competitive audition to perform in the chorus and named roles in mainstage productions, cover principal artists, and receive coaching ahead of auditions for opera companies and artist managers nationally and abroad. More than 1,500 singers have passed through the program, including Joyce DiDonato, Michael Fabiano, John Holiday, Kate Lindsey, Will Liverman, and Rachel Willis Sørensen.