Yasuko Oura

Yasuko Oura
Principal Production Pianist & Coach

Yasuko Oura has received national recognition as a virtuoso collaborative pianist, with concert appearances in notable venues as Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and Carnegie’s Weill Hall. Also known as a noted vocal coach and repetiteur, she has worked with such distinguished conductors as Harry Bicket, Jane Glover, and John DeMain. She is also on the music staff for Des Moines Metro Opera, and formerly for Fort Worth Opera and Madison Opera. Her recent 2010-2011 season performances included Rake’s Progress for Toledo Opera, Hansel and Gretel for Santa Fe Concert Association, L’Italiana in Algeri and Dido and Aeneas/Venus and Adonis for Florentine Opera, and Dialogues of the Carmelites and La Boheme for Des Moines Metro Opera. Active as a recitalist, past seasons include performances with singers such as Susanne Mentzer, Susanna Phillips, and David Cangelosi, as well as performances for the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, and the Bel Canto Foundation. She currently resides in Chicago, where she is on the faculty of Roosevelt University as a vocal coach, and has also coached at Northwestern, DePaul, and North Park Universities. Locally, she has worked with Grant Park Orchestra Chorus, Music of the Baroque, Light Opera Works, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Wisconsin District and Ars Viva Symphony. Ms. Oura has received fellowships to San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Opera Theater Center and Music Academy of the West, and has performed for numerous master classes, including those for José Van Dam, Rudolf Piernay and Marilyn Horne’s Song Continues series. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and master’s and doctoral degrees from the Juilliard School, where she was a C.V. Starr Doctoral Fellow.