Meet Pittsburgh Opera’s New General Director — William Powers

PHOTO COURTESY WILLIAM POWERS

William Powers is getting back to his operatic roots.

The executive director of Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra since 2021, Powers recently was named general director of Pittsburgh Opera, effective July 1.

Prior to joining the symphony, Powers — a veteran artistic administrator with more than 30 years of experience — spent 14 years working at Pittsburgh Opera; he began as the director of artistic administration and was promoted to director of administration and artistic operations before becoming the managing director.

“Opera has been at the core of my artistic identity for a long time, really my whole professional career for that matter,” Powers says, “And so, the journey has brought me back.”

Powers succeeds Christopher Hahn, who is retiring at the conclusion of the opera’s 2025–26 season. Prior to becoming the second-longest tenured general director in company history, Hahn served as the opera’s artistic director from 2000 to 2008.

While a national search was conducted for Hahn’s replacement, the opera’s board of directors found the best candidate for the position was right under their noses and — thanks to his history with the company — uniquely qualified to lead the opera into the future.

“[Powers] is intimately familiar with our company, our city, and our patrons, and has demonstrated the ability to successfully helm performing arts organizations,” said Pittsburgh Opera board president Gene Welsh in a statement.

Board chair Michele Fabrizi adds, “In many ways, Bill has been preparing for this role for decades. He arrives with instant credibility and goodwill both internally and externally.”

For his part, Hahn says there is no one he would rather turn the reins of the organization over to than Powers.

“Having worked with him for well over a decade, I have witnessed and benefited from his expertise, judgment, and counsel,” Hahn said in a statement. “His work ethic and integrity are second to none.”

While Powers says he plans to continue the legacy of artistic excellence the opera has built over 87 seasons, among his ideas for the future are engaging more with the community, particularly the younger generation, while expanding the opera’s variety of offerings, which could include newer chamber works and new commissions.

“We are seeing more cultural omnivores in terms of the way patrons are experiencing the arts, and so to have that variety will be very important,” Powers says.

He also hopes to partner with other local entities on projects, something he prioritized during his time at PYSO.

“There’s wonderful opportunities in this community now for collaborations, working with other organizations and utilizing the synergies between the both to pull our forces together and say ‘Let’s create this interesting project,’ or ‘Let’s engage our community in this way,’” Powers says.

In particular, he is interested in appealing to Pittsburgh’s younger demographics through technology, such as curated content and storytelling on social media platforms.

“Having worked with the youth of Pittsburgh for the last four or five years, it’s been inspirational seeing their passion and joy,” he says. “Knowing that there’s more we can do to engage directly with the youth of this community will be a major initiative of what I bring to the next chapter of Pittsburgh Opera.”

Powers certainly has support for his new role as home. He is married to Sari Gruber, an acclaimed opera singer and voice professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Like Powers, Gruber is a Juilliard grad; the couple met at the school in the 1990s.

Over the years, Gruber says he has sought his wife’s perspective on musical matters, particularly when it comes to how to engage with artists.

“I think one of the nice things the two of us in life have been able to do is, we’ve seen this industry from both sides,” Powers says. “She’s been a performing artist out there working with colleagues, living that life from the stage. And, of course, I’ve been on the producing side, engaging the community, raising the money and providing the opportunities for those artists to get up on stage and flourish.”