Pittsburgh Opera is pleased to announce the hiring of William Powers as its new General Director, effective July 1, 2026. He succeeds Christopher Hahn, who has served as Pittsburgh Opera’s General Director since 2008, and is retiring at the conclusion of Pittsburgh Opera’s 2025-26 season. Mr. Hahn had been Pittsburgh Opera’s Artistic Director from 2000-2008, before becoming the second-longest tenured General Director in company history.
A veteran artistic administrator with over 30 years’ experience, Mr. Powers has a proven track record of steady leadership, artistic vision, young artist development, and fiscal acuity.
Mr. Powers has been the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra (PYSO) since 2021. Prior to that, he worked at Pittsburgh Opera for 14 years, starting as Director of Artistic Administration, then being promoted to Director of Administration and Artistic Operations, and then to Managing Director. He has held posts with The Juilliard School’s Department of Vocal Arts, in the Artistic Department at The Metropolitan Opera and The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, as General Director of the Berkshire Opera Company, and seasonal positions with the Aspen Music Festival and The Music Academy of the West. The national search for Mr. Hahn’s successor was led by Margaret Genovese of Genovese Vanderhoof & Associates, who collaborated closely with Pittsburgh Opera’s Board of Directors’ Search Committee.
“Bill is uniquely qualified to lead Pittsburgh Opera into the future,” says Pittsburgh Opera Board President Gene Welsh. “He is intimately familiar with our company, our city, and our patrons, and has demonstrated the ability to successfully helm performing arts organizations.”
Board Chair Michele Fabrizi adds “In many ways, Bill has been preparing for this role for decades. He arrives with instant credibility and goodwill both internally and externally.”
For his part, Mr. Hahn says “There is no one I would rather turn the reins over to than Bill Powers. Having worked with him for well over a decade, I have witnessed and benefited from his expertise, judgment, and counsel. His work ethic and integrity are second to none.”
“I am both excited and humbled,” says Mr. Powers. “Pittsburgh Opera has a long, distinguished lineage of General Directors. This company has accomplished great things in its first 87 seasons. I look forward to building on this legacy of artistic excellence, while helping ensure Pittsburgh Opera’s continued long-term fiscal stability.”
Mr. Powers earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Hamilton College, and an MBA in Finance from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. He and his wife, an accomplished opera singer who serves on the Voice Faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, live in Mt. Lebanon; their daughter attends his alma mater Hamilton College.