Houston Grand Opera announced on Wednesday, October 9 that Patrick Summers, the organization's artistic and music director, will step down from the position in spring 2026. He'll transition to the role of music director emeritus and holder of the Robert and Jane Cizik Music Director Emeritus Chair.
Houston's arts and opera followers know that Summers has been part of the company's fabric for more than two decades. During that time, he’s made an indelible mark on the company, the city, and the world of opera.
He joined HGO as music director in 1998, recruited by then-general director David Gockley. At the time, the Houston Symphony, which had been the company’s primary orchestra, was ending its relationship with HGO. Summers spent the next decade growing the HGO Orchestra into an operatic powerhouse, on par with operatic orchestras across the world. In 2011, took on the expanded role of artistic and music director, responsible for fostering excellence in its orchestra and overseeing the overall artistic quality of its productions — a dual appointment that remains a rarity in the industry. Rarer still has been the length of Summers’s tenure in his double role.
“Since David Gockley first spoke to me almost three decades ago about coming to HGO, when I was a shy and ambitious young conductor in my thirties, to this current moment of Khori Dastoor’s early tenure, during which I will bring my long service as music director to a close, I can only say that it has been the privilege of a lifetime to be a part of this extraordinary company,” Summers said in a statement. “Houston Grand Opera is a blessed place, and I am enormously grateful for the long honor of leading our own treasured orchestra and making art with both our resident ensembles, who are our heart and soul, while guiding the artistic direction of this great company. That my tenure stretches from David to Khori will always mean the world to me. I thank everyone so deeply.”
The accolades and accomplishments of Summers’ tenure at the opera house are many and varied. He’s been instrumental in championing the company’s distinctly American vision of opera as an art form. He has conducted numerous world premieres in Houston, building the repertoire through collaborations with composers including Tod Machover (Resurrection, 1999), Carlisle Floyd (Cold Sassy Tree, 2000; Prince of Players, 2016), Rachel Portman (The Little Prince, 2003), Jake Heggie (End of the Affair, 2004; Three Decembers, 2008; It’s a Wonderful Life, 2016), Christopher Theofanidis (The Refuge, 2007), André Previn (Brief Encounter, 2009), Tarik O’Regan (The Phoenix, 2019), and Joel Thompson (The Snowy Day, 2021).
He’s also been an important mentor to emerging — and established — opera singers. In addition to supporting young artists in the company’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio program, he has worked closely with a host of performers cast in HGO’s mainstage productions.
Summers has enjoyed close artistic relationships with several of opera’s leading stars, including Tamara Wilson, Joyce DiDonato, Jamie Barton, Ryan McKinny, Ailyn Pérez, Christine Goerke, Iestyn Davies (in his U.S. debut), and many more. His collaborations with, and support of, musicians and creatives extend across disciplines, spanning from conductors such as Eun Sun Kim and Cristian Mӑcelaru to stage directors such as Baz Luhrmann, Stephen Wadsworth, and Lileana Blain-Cruz.
“Patrick Summers has been an extraordinary mentor and guide throughout my career,” said soprano Christine Goerke. “He was the first to believe in me in the challenging dramatic repertoire, and without his support, immense knowledge, and trust, I simply would not be where I am today.”
Goerke performed the role of Brünnhilde in three of HGO’s Ring operas.
“Performing Wagner’s Ring cycle with him at Houston Grand Opera is an unforgettable highlight of my journey, again made possible by Patrick's artistry and visionary leadership,” she added. “His legacy at HGO will forever be marked by these transformative experiences, and I will always be deeply grateful for his heart, soul, and unmatched musical magic.”
Summers’ tenure is loaded with superlatives. A career-defining production was the company’s 2014 American premiere of Weinberg’s The Passenger, both at HGO and Lincoln Center Festival. Other HGO highlights include conducting Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Lohengrin; Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos and Elektra; Handel’s Saul and Julius Caesar; Mozart’s Idomeneo, The Abduction from the Seraglio, Don Giovanni, and The Marriage of Figaro; and many more. He’s also conducted Verdi’s La traviata three times for HGO, as well as the company’s only performances of the composer’s Requiem.
“Patrick Summers’s impact on this company, and opera as an American art form, is awe-inspiring,” said HGO general director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “He has worked closely with leading composers to introduce groundbreaking new works, mentored some of the most prominent names in opera, and guided the HGO Orchestra from its infancy into the exceptional ensemble it is today. Maestro Summers has always been a forward-looking leader. He’s also been such a gracious and supportive partner to me as we’ve ushered in a new era at this company. My gratitude to him is immeasurable. I am delighted he will be continuing as my trusted colleague.”
In his new position as HGO’s music director emeritus, Summers will continue to serve the company as a valued advisor, scholar, and guest conductor while maintaining close relationships with company members and supporters.
He’s also taken on the position of distinguished lecturer in opera studies at Rice University’ Shepherd School of Music. He’ll teach courses in opera history and collaborate with the school’s director of opera studies and students in its opera program.
“The [opera history] curriculum touches on many hundreds of operas and the traditions behind them,” Summers tells CultureMap. “The artists of the future will be best poised to positively affect their art if they know its history, because history is always a great indicator of future trends because, as Mark Twain said, history doesn’t repeat but it rhymes.”
Summers began his career in opera in 1986, training as a pianist/conductor with the San Francisco Opera Merola Opera Program. He quickly became music director for SFO’s touring arm, the Western Opera Theater, before being named the music director of the SFO Center. From 1999 to 2016, he served as SFO’s principal guest conductor, succeeding his conducting mentor, Sir Charles Mackerras. In 2015, was honored with the San Francisco Opera Medal, the company’s highest honor.
Summers also has enjoyed long associations with Opera Australia and the Metropolitan Opera, in addition to conducting for major companies throughout the world. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from his alma mater, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, acknowledging distinguished achievements in the field of opera, particularly as a mentor of younger artists.
HGO will launch an international search for his successor.
Photo by Lynn Lane
Patrick Summers, Houston Grand Opera's artistic and music director, will transition to the role of music director emeritus in spring 2026.
