Douglas Sumi
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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 conductor and has a recognized commitment to song and opera. He has assisted conductors such as James Conlon, Plácido Domingo, Patrick Summers, William Lacy, Michele Mariotti, and Emmanuel Villaume. He has worked with many great opera stars: Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo, Carol Vaness, Sir Thomas Allen, Vladimir Chernov, Bejun Mehta, Linda Watson, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, Ana María Martinez, Vittorio Grigolo, including many of today’s emerging young singers. Most notably, he collaborated with Renée Fleming in recital, after working together in A Streetcar Named Desire. He has performed throughout Europe and North America, including Carnegie Hall and 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, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Indianapolis Opera, Centro Studi Lirica, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, American Opera Projects, University of Minnesota 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 Roger Bourland’s La Paloma y el Ruiseñor at the Cultural Festival of Mazatlán. He continues to be invited for master classes across North America and has led young singers to top prizes of premiere national and international 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.
An alumnus of Manhattan School of Music, Sumi studied piano under the
tutelage of Warren Jones. As a piano teacher himself, he has guided students of collaborative piano to earn acceptance into 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. Additionally, he regularly coached students at the USC Thornton School of Music and maintained a vibrant private coaching studio. He has curated countless recitals with many singers over the years, promoting the relevancy of art song literature. In addition to his many responsibilities, in 2016, 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. Currently, he serves on faculty at Boston University, teaching courses in song literature, lyric diction and opera while continuing to coach singers and pianists.
