The Los Angeles Master Chorale announced Tuesday that Los Angeles arts executive, educator and performer Katherine Powers will serve as its new president and chief executive officer.
“You know you’ve had an effective search when you begin with over 50 names, and as you work through them, the mission of your organization is sharpened,” William Tully, interim president and CEO, said. “When Katherine became a finalist, and then our unanimous choice, we knew we had found the right leader for this moment in our 60-year history.”
Powers joins the Master Chorale from Pacific Opera Project, where she has served as executive director since 2023.
Her appointment comes as the Master Chorale begins its 2026-27 season and artistic director Grant Gershon marks his 25th year with the organization. The season opens Sept. 27 at Walt Disney Concert Hall with Brahms’ “Requiem” and Bruckner’s “Te Deum.”
The season also includes the ensemble’s first collaboration with the National Chorus of Korea, the West Coast premiere of Eric Whitacre’s “Eternity in an Hour,” a celebration of Stephen Sondheim and the return of Peter Sellars’ production of “Lagrime di San Pietro.”
“I am extremely excited to welcome Katherine Powers to the LA Master Chorale team,” Gershon said. “Katherine is a fantastically dynamic arts leader, and I know that she and I will have a very close and productive partnership.”
Before joining Pacific Opera Project, Powers was the founding director of Vocal Arts at California School of the Arts — San Gabriel Valley, where she developed partnerships with organizations including LA Opera, the Music Center, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, MUSE/IQUE and the Huntington.
Powers has also taught voice at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Occidental College, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Cal State Los Angeles, as well as through the YoungArts Foundation.
A soprano, she made her LA Opera debut in the Grammy Award-winning production of “The Ghosts of Versailles” and has performed with Pacific Opera Project and other companies. She also served as a teaching artist with LA Opera Connects, where she created and hosted the eight-part “Shakespeare Sings” series.
“The human voice is our most universal instrument, and few ensembles demonstrate its power more profoundly than the Los Angeles Master Chorale,” Powers said. “Los Angeles is home to some of the greatest vocal talent in the world, and we are so lucky to have this ensemble of prismatic musicians as ambassadors for our city.”
Powers holds an associate degree in theater from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, a bachelor’s degree in music from UCLA and a master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.