Elizabeth Askren, Franco-American conductor, has guest conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. Equally at home in opera, she assisted productions in major European venues (Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Théâtre du Châtelet, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées…) before débuting most recently with the Opéra de Toulon, the Romanian National Opera of Cluj-Napoca, and the Dallas Opera. Askren is the Founder and Artistic Director of TOA – Transylvanian Opera Academy, Romania’s first opera studio. Since its creation in 2017, TOA has been showcased in the national media, with partners such as the French Ministry of Culture and the Paris National Opera’s Academy. She is invited throughout Europe and the United States to teach and speak about conducting and the art of leadership. Askren holds diplomas in piano and conducting from the Juilliard School, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Conducting Institute of Bard in the United States, and the Schola Cantorum and the Ecole Normale de Musique in France.