John Adams’s The Chairman Dances emerges from his opera Nixon in China, conceived as an “outtake” from the stage in which Madame Mao imagines a glittering, surreal dance. From that dramatic spark, the program turns inward with the luminous warmth of Jake Heggie’s Good Morning Beauty, whose lyrical immediacy speaks in a deeply personal voice. After intermission, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings offers profound stillness and shared humanity, unfolding in long, searching lines. The concert culminates with Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring Suite, whose open harmonies and buoyant spirit evoke renewal and possibility. Vocalist Nikola Printz joins us for this show.
PROGRAM
ADAMS: The Chairman Dances: Foxtrot for Orchestra 
HEGGIE: Good Morning Beauty
BARBER: Adagio for Strings
COPLAND: Appalachian Spring: Suite
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Hailed as “one of the great talents in the USA at the moment” by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Brazilian-American conductor Austin Chanu is the newly appointed Music Director of The Syracuse Orchestra. He has also earned recognition as a four time recipient of the Career Assistance Award from the ...
Hailed as “one of the great talents in the USA at the moment” by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Brazilian-American conductor Austin Chanu is the newly appointed Music Director of The Syracuse Orchestra. He has also earned recognition as a four time recipient of the Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S., and as the third prize and orchestra prize winner in the Korean National Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Competition.
In the 25-26 season, Austin made debuts with The Syracuse Orchestra, the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra. He has also been named a finalist in The Mahler Competition 2026 and will compete in June conducting the Bamberger Symphoniker. In recent seasons, he has appeared as a guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica Banatul Timișoara, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, and Omaha Symphony.
Previously, Austin was the Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, where he assisted Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. During this time, he co-lead a project to restore, rebuild, and elevate the underperformed works of American composer William Grant Still. He helped create and conducted the world premiere of a newly restored edition of Still’s Wood Notes.
Austin made his subscription debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra conducting Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Critics commended his interpretation saying, “the orchestra never sounded better as Chanu led with primal energy and shamanistic insight into the music… the orchestra matched Chanu’s confident leadership in a performance of searing energy and heart-thumping passion” (Broad Street Review).
Austin has a passion for contemporary music, stemming from his own background as a composer. He served as a teaching artist and conductor for the LA Philharmonic Association’s Associate Composer Program, as well as a Conducting Fellow at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where he studied with conductor Cristian Măcelaru. He was commissioned by the Eastman School of Music to compose an orchestral work for the school’s centennial celebration and conducted its world premiere in the Fall of 2021.
Austin was also formerly the Music Director for the Los Angeles Music and Art School, where he conducted and developed the artistic direction for the youth orchestra, choirs, and jazz band. Austin found it rewarding to draw on his Latino heritage to foster representation for the predominantly Latinx students and families in the program through repertoire selection.
In addition to his orchestral background, Austin has extensive experience in jazz and musical theatre styles. While living in Los Angeles, he was a high-call woodwind performer for musical pit orchestras and jazz ensembles.
Austin received a B.M. in Music Composition from the USC Thornton School of Music, graduating Magna cum Laude. He also graduated from the Eastman School of Music with an M.M. and DMA in Orchestral Conducting.
Nikola Printz, a versatile artist making waves in Opera, Concert, and Recital, is noted for performances that are “heartrending, musically resplendent…and thrillingly fierce” (San Francisco Chronicle) and praised for possessing a “richly colored and flexible voice, complemented by a powerfully expressive physicality” (San Francisco Classical ...
Nikola Printz, a versatile artist making waves in Opera, Concert, and Recital, is noted for performances that are “heartrending, musically resplendent…and thrillingly fierce” (San Francisco Chronicle) and praised for possessing a “richly colored and flexible voice, complemented by a powerfully expressive physicality” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Noted American journalist Joshua Kosman reflects with “marvel at the career trajectory of Nikola Printz, who has recently made an artistic sprint from apprentice to star in what feels like the blink of an eye.”
Nikola Printz makes their London debut in autumn 2025, performing under the baton of Marin Alsop in a concert presentation of Laura Karpman’s opera Balls at the Royal Festival Hall with The Philharmonia. Printz portrays tennis legend Billie Jean King in the groundbreaking work, which dramatizes the historic 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match. Karpman – an Oscar-nominated composer known for her acclaimed scores for American Fiction, The Marvels, and Kung Fu Panda 2 – is a leading advocate for equality in the film industry. She wrote the role of Billie Jean King specifically for Printz, who originated the part in the world premiere staged production by Opera Parallèle.
Highlights of the 2025–26 season include performances of Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with the Vallejo Symphony, as well as Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, singing the role of Jade Boucher and covering the lead role of Sister Helen Prejean in Leonard Foglia’s compelling production, conducted by Patrick Summers. The artist also covers the role of Kundry in a brand-new San Francisco Opera production of Parsifal, directed by Matthew Ozawa and led by Music Director Eun Sun Kim. Additional appearances of the season include a debut at Opéra de Lille in a production of Philip Glass’ Les Enfants terribles and a titular role debut as Handel’s Alcina with the Bay Area’s Festival Opera.
At San Francisco Opera – which Nikola Printz considers their “home company” – performance highlights include the titular role in Carmen Encounter, as well as featured roles during their two-year Adler Fellowship in Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence, Gabriela Lena Frank’s El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego, and Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Additional engagements include the role of Carmen with Festival Opera in the Bay Area, a UK debut at the Grange Festival, Peter Lieberson’s haunting Neruda Songs with Edwin Outwater conducting the Symphony of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a tour with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in Summer of Love—a vibrant program spanning global genres and featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Bernstein, and John Williams, alongside classic pop songs made famous by Nat King Cole and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
In recent seasons Nikola Printz has brought to life a diverse range of operatic characters including Dido (Dido and Æneas), Elle (La voix humaine), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), and the title role of Orfeo ed Euridice. No stranger to the Symphony stage, the artist has appeared with the San Francisco Symphony in performances of Falla’s El Sombrero de Tres Picos and Mahler’s iconic Das Lied Von der Erde with the San Francisco Ballet and Vallejo Symphony.
A cosmopolitan curator and magnetic recitalist, Nikola Printz is the recipient of a 2025 Richard Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and the 2021 Schwabacher Debut Recital Award. They have impressed both audiences and critics alike, earning acclaim for their 2022 Schwabacher Debut Recital under the auspices of San Francisco Opera. Printz also was celebrated for their “March Madness” program—an exhilarating descent into identity, reinvention, and musical rebellion—featuring songs made famous by The Pixies, Elliott Smith, Kurt Weill, Nina Simone, and Nina Hagen, performed at the Chan National Queer Arts Center.
Nikola Printz is an accomplished aerialist, distinguished for designing, choreographing, and performing acrobatic opera productions in grand concert halls and smoky cabaret clubs across North America and internationally. Beyond their operatic and acrobatic work, they enjoy composing music, playing piano and guitar, cycling, practicing film photography, engaging in activism, and exploring the subversion of gender norms through art and performance.
