Marcus Shields

Marcus Shields is an artist and administrator working primarily at the intersection between theater and classical music. His theatrical work explores the experience of listening to music and considers sound frequency, historical context, the word “traditional” as it applies to aesthetics, cultural memory, and the relationship between chaos and clarity.

He has worked as a stage director at the following institutions: The Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre Of Saint Louis, The Curtis Institute Of Music, The Juilliard School, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Merola Opera Program, Arizona Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Prototype Festival NYC, Cincinnati Opera. He is a co-founder of OSSIA, a new media production company and digital content creator.

In May of 2019, he completed a year-long appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Opera Directing at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, where he taught a seminar focused on the historical interplay between opera and theater, and a performance practicum centered around the idea of opera singer as maker.

Shields is an alumnus of the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Northwestern University (BM), University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (MM and AD), and the recipient of multiple fellowships including: The Drama League Opera Directing Fellowship, The Metropolitan Opera Directing Fellowship, and The Wolf Trap Opera Directing Fellowship. Additionally, he has been a directing apprentice in the Merola Opera Program and is a 2019 winner of the Robert L. Tobin Director-Designer showcase grant.

Visit marcusshields.com for more information.