TAYTE MITCHELL | CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Tayte Mitchell was born and raised in Vulcan, Alberta, and is now based in Calgary. He is the CEO and Artistic Director of Ammolite Opera, a chamber opera company dedicated to producing works by living composers through the voices of Canadian artists. In Ammolite Opera’s first year, he has produced and directed the Canadian premieres of Empty the House by Rene Orth and Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli.
Tayte’s directing debut was awarded first place by the National Opera Association Opera Production Competition for his staging of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, featuring soprano Juliana Zara with Oberlin Chamber Opera. His directing highlights include Menotti’s The Medium with Oberlin Opera Theater, Suor Angelica with Rezonanz Opera, and a reimagined production of Die Schöne Müllerin (The Miller’s Mind) at cSpace Marda Loop in Calgary. Most recently, Tayte directed The Garden of Alice by Elizabeth Raum with Vancouver Opera as part of their Voices Series sponsored by TD.
As an assistant director, Tayte has collaborated with renowned directors such as Rachel Peake (Macbeth / Verdi / Calgary Opera), Ashlie Corcoran (Die Fledermaus / Strauss / Vancouver Opera), and Morris Panych (Flight / Dove / Vancouver Opera). His upcoming projects include working with Mo Zhou on Madame Butterfly by Puccini with Vancouver Opera and with Joel Ivany on Edmonton Opera’s production of Wagner’s Die Walküre arranged for reduced orchestra by Jonathon Dove.
As a performer, Tayte has trained at prestigious summer programs such as Marilyn Horne’s Music Academy of the West, the Brott Opera Festival and the Studio Artist Program with Wolf Trap Opera. During his time as a McPhee Young Artist with Calgary Opera, his roles included Bénédict (Béatrice et Bénédict), El Remendado(Carmen), and Gastone (La Traviata), alongside covers for Macduff (Macbeth) and Camille de Rosillon (The Merry Widow).
Tayte earned his Bachelor of Music at Oberlin Conservatory, dual majoring in Voice Performance under Lorraine Manz and Opera Directing under Jonathon Field. He completed his Master’s Degree in Voice at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under William E. McGraw, supported by the Government of Alberta's Arts Graduate Scholarship.
Currently, Tayte is the Stage Director in Residence with Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 Seasons.
MARIA FULLER | MUSIC DIRECTOR
Hailed as an artist of “subtle control, careful focus and thorough professionalism” by the Chronical Journal, and “fiery and dynamic” by the W alleye Magazine, Canadian conductor MARIA FULLER demonstrates unparalleled energy and an infectious joy in her music-making. Admired for the broad-scope of her musicianship, she performs internationally as a conductor, pianist, trumpeter, and is also an acclaimed vocal coach, award-winning composer, and sought after arranger.
Selected by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Maria is one of several Canadian conductors to take part in a unique mentorship in Montrèal with him and the Orchestra Métropolitain. For the 24/25 season, Maria is a Resident Conductor at the Teatr Wielki w Łodzi, Poland, where she conducts several operatic and ballet productions, including Madama Butterfly, Hansel und Gretel, and Turandot. This season she also works at the Narodní Divadlo, Prague.
In November 2023, Maria was a finalist and multi-award winner of the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition, Poland, garnering her multiple guest appearances as conductor and repetiteur in Europe. She also represented Canada in the inaugural La Maestra International Conducting Competition, Paris, in 2021. Currently a conducting fellow of Tapestry Opera, T oronto, Maria assists and guest conducts over 25 orchestras and opera companies across Canada. Last season her debut performances were with the Victoria, Winnipeg, Kingston, and Hamilton orchestras, as well as with New Music Concerts Toronto, and Music Niagara Festival. She has also assisted at the T oronto Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Pacific Opera Victoria, and Manitoba Opera. This season, she will have debut engagements with the Kamloops, Guelph, and Calgary symphony orchestras.
As a pianist, trumpeter, chamber musician, and composer, Maria is a laureate of several international competitions. Her participation as the youngest pianist at the Franz Schubert Institute, Baden, and at the Mozarteum, Salzburg, has garnered her recital appearances across Austria, including at the Beethoven Haus. On the piano, Fuller has performed for Lang-Lang, Lee Kum-Sing, André Laplanté, Julius Drake, Helmut Deutsch, and for singers Robert Holl, Barbara Bonney, and Elly Ameling. Her recording of Der Erlkönig is highly acclaimed, achieving a video-view count of well over one million. She is featured in the “Erlkonig Project” from the University of Wisconsin-Madison along with Julius and Drake, and Gerald Moore.
Maria studied conducting at CCM (College-Conservatory of Music), Cincinnati, under the intense mentorship of Mo. Mark Gibson. She also has a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano from McGill University, a Masters of Music in Piano and an Artist Diploma in Operatic Coaching from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Following her education in 2019, she was awarded the renown David Effron Conducting Fellowship at the Chautauqua Institute, NY, and began a position as Resident Conductor and Chorus Master with the Thunder Bay Symphony and Chorus.
The year 2025 marks Maria's second year as co-founder and Music Director of Ammolite Opera, Calgary, Alberta. Together with co-founder Tayte Mitchell they seek to highlight western Canadian talent and showcase operas by living composers. Already a partner with several leading groups including Steinway Piano, AO looks forward to premiering Maria’s own Oratorio “The Return of the Messiah,”which features text from the original. Maria is also the Onstage Music Director, Trumpeter, and Composer at the Badlands Passion Play, in Drumheller.