The recipient of the 2017 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Christopher Allen has been featured in Opera News as "one of the fastest-rising podium stars in North America." He has been fostered by Plácido Domingo and James Conlon, who brought him to Los Angeles Opera as an Associate Conductor.

Hara is a faculty member at California State University–Fullerton and the Colorado College Summer Music Festival. He has also served on the faculties of the Aspen Music Festival, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Alabama.

Like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, Royce Hall is one of America’s great concert halls, distinguished not only for its impeccable beauty and refined acoustics, but also for the ghosts of performances that haunt it.