Conductor and HIWC Alumna & Faculty – The Dallas Opera
Praised for “inspiring virtuosic achievements from the pit” (Opera Today) and “palpable happiness” (Le Monde) from the artists with whom she collaborates, Elizabeth Askren empowers musicians around the world as a conductor, educator, and cultural activist.
An OPERA America 2024 Opera Grant winner, Askren performs regularly with leading opera houses and orchestras, including The Dallas Opera, with which she enjoys a privileged relationship, and Hawaii Opera Theatre, of which she is the company’s first ever Principal Guest Conductor. She is also the Music Director of Paola Prestini and Brenda Shaughnessey’s Sensorium Ex, a Ford Foundation-funded multi-modal opera exploring issues at the intersection of AI, disability, and the human voice. Askren is the Founder and Artistic Director of Transylvanian Opera Academy (TOA), Romania’s first opera studio. Created in 2017, TOA has been featured on national television, radio, and press while partnering with the Paris Opera’s Academy, TEDx, and Opera for Peace. She is also the creator and host of MaestraMagic!, a children’s edutainment series distributed by The Dallas Opera.
A master teacher at both The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute and at the Paris Opera’s Academy, Askren made history by judging the Paris Philharmonic’s inaugural La Maestra Competition for Women Conductors. She is invited regularly to speak about leading and entrepreneurship in the arts, mentoring young artists, and cultivating humanity in the age of AI through outlets including PBS Newshour, NPR, Radio France Internationale, and The Ford Foundation/How Institute.