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Brad Clark is the founder and inspiring creative force behind Maryland Lyric Opera, where he currently serves as Artistic Director. A native Marylander and current resident of Bethesda, his local philanthropy also includes Food and Friends, Child Justice, Most Valuable Kids, and Washington Waldorf School, among many other groups.

Brad is also an accomplished pianist, having earned a Bachelor of Music in piano performance from the University of Maryland and a Master of Music in musicology and a Doctorate of Musical Arts in collaborative piano from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America. He has performed in recitals and master classes throughout the United States and Europe with some of the brightest stars in classical music, including Birgit Nilsson, Pinchas Zukerman, Richard Stoltzman, Carter Brey, Lynn Harrell, James Galway, and Aprile Millo.

His early experiences as a rehearsal and collaborative pianist inspired him to create the Maryland Lyric Opera Institute, which helps train the next generation of opera stars with intensive coaching and performance opportunities throughout the state.

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Louis Salemno is the Music Director of Maryland Lyric Opera and is the principal conductor for all its performances, including the recent Thaïs, La fanciulla del West, and the MDLO Orchestra concert featuring pianist Leon Fleisher. He oversees the recruitment and training of the emerging artists of the MDLO Institute and leads the team responsible for auditioning, hiring, and managing the MDLO Orchestra and Chorus.

Maestro’s long and storied international conducting career includes posts at some of the world’s leading opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and New York City Opera, among many others. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in France and was mentored by the legendary Kurt Herbert Adler, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gianandrea Gavazzeni and Bruno Bartoletti.  As a pianist, he has appeared in recital with Montserrat Caballe and Denyce Graves.

As a mentor, he held the post of Resident Coach for Washington National Opera’s acclaimed Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program for nearly a decade, where he also trained conducting students as well as visiting conductors in preparation for performances. He has also mentored singers at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He studied piano with Mieczyslaw Horszowski and conducting with Max Rudolf at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

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Matthew Woorman is General Manager of Maryland Lyric Opera and directs its day-to-day administration. He previously served as the company’s Director of Marketing and Development, and highlights of his tenure include managing the expansion of MDLO performances from piano recitals to semi-staged concerts to fully staged theatrical productions and into new venues such as Strathmore and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland.

Prior to his career as an arts administrator, Matthew was a performing artist who sang many roles in the baritone and bass repertories throughout the United States and Europe. He sang the role of Count Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the University of Maryland in 2015. He was later an MDLO Emerging Artist (the precursor to the current MDLO Institute.) 

A native of Montgomery County, Matthew earned an Associate of Arts degree in music performance from Montgomery College in Rockville and a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at The Catholic University of America.