American pianist, Douglas Sumi, is a frequent collaborator with many of today’s artists and opera theaters. He is a versatile artist, comfortable in the capacities of pianist, coach, and assistant conductor, and has a recognized commitment to song and opera. He has assisted conductors such as James Conlon, Patrick Summers, Michele Mariotti, and Emmanuel Villaume. He has worked with artists such as Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo, Carol Vaness, Sir Thomas Allen, Vladimir Chernov, Linda Watson, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, Alek Shrader, Ailyn Pérez, Jamie Barton, Ryan McKinny, Angel Blue, Janai Brugger, Ronnita Miller, and members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Most notably, he collaborated with Renée Fleming in recital, after their work together in A Streetcar Named Desire. He has performed throughout Europe and North America, including the Kennedy Center for the Arts.
Sumi served for many seasons on music staff at Los Angeles Opera and is an alumnus of their young artist program. He has also worked for the Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD, New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, New Orleans Opera Company, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Indianapolis Opera, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, American Opera Projects, Pacific Opera Projects and his alma mater, the Manhattan School of Music, as Assistant Coach to English diction expert, Kathryn LaBouff. In Russia, he has given master classes at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and Galina Vishnevskaya’s Opera Center. In Mexico, he premiered La Paloma y el Ruiseñor at the Cultural Festival of Mazatlán. He has led singers to top prizes of premiere competitions including Plácido Domingo’s Operalia, the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, Neue Stimmen, Licia Albanese Competition, Gerda Lissner Competition, Giulio Gari Competition, Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition, the Dallas Opera Guild Competition and the Richard Tucker Foundation.
As a piano teacher himself, he has guided students of collaborative piano to earn acceptance into prestigious programs at the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music and New England Conservatory. While residing in Los Angeles, he was on faculty at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music, fastidiously guiding students through innovative recitals, original works and opera productions, and still maintains a vibrant private teaching studio in southern California. He has curated countless recitals with many singers over the years, promoting the relevancy of art song literature. In addition to his many responsibilities, Sumi began making a path for himself in chamber music. A co-founder of Prospect Park Chamber Players, he regularly creates and performs a variety of programs in the greater Los Angeles area. In addition to coaching singers at Boston University’s School of Music, he teaches courses in song literature, lyric diction, and opera for pianists.