About Me

Winner of OPERA America’s Marineau Grant for Women Conductors, acclaimed conductor Sahar Nouri has established a dynamic international career in opera, leading productions with companies and festivals across the United States and abroad. In the 2025–26 season, she makes her debut with the Sacramento Philharmonic in a production of La traviata, and conducts Die Zauberflöte at the historic Estates Theatre in Prague and Le nozze di Figaro at the University of Michigan.

Ms. Nouri serves as Music Director of the Lamont Opera Theatre at the University of Denver. She also holds the position of Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master at Opera Colorado where she has conducted select performances of Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, Carmen, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and La fille du régiment. At the University of Denver, she has conducted full productions of Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les mamelles de Tirésias, Alcina, and The Little Prince.

Known as a singer’s conductor, Ms. Nouri brings deep insight into pacing, breath, and phrasing to support and flatter the voice. Combining perfect pitch with meticulous attention to language, poetry, and orchestral detail, she inspires singers and orchestras alike while realizing every nuance of the score.

Previously, Ms. Nouri has held music staff positions at leading opera companies and festivals, including San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, the Glimmerglass Festival, Utah Opera, Opera Parallèle, North Carolina Opera, and Aspen Opera Theatre, and The Philadelphia Orchestra. A champion of contemporary opera, Ms. Nouri has participated in several world premiere productions, including The Prince of Players by Carlisle Floyd, Today It Rains by Laura Kaminsky, O Columbia! by Gregory Spears, and Steal a Pencil for Me by Gerald Cohen.

A versatile musician, she has performed as a recitalist across the United States with internationally acclaimed artists, including tenor Matthew Polenzani, soprano Mane Galoyan, and soprano Heidi Melton.

Ms. Nouri began her career as a violinist with the Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra, earning national recognition in Iran for both violin and piano performance. She studied conducting with Donato Renzetti, Larry Rachleff, and Kenneth Kiesler and holds graduate degrees in Collaborative Piano from the University of Michigan and Arizona State University, as well as a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Honar University in Tehran, Iran. Fluent in multiple languages, she has studied language in Italy, Czechia, and Austria.

Iranian conductor and pianist, Sahar Nouri, has been Music Director of Lamont Opera Theater at University of Denver since 2019. She has also served at Opera Colorado as chorus master/assistant conductor since 2016. Ms. Nouri is the founder/director of Dandelion Opera Institute.

At the University of Denver, Ms. Nouri has conducted productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Die Zauberflöte, Alcina, Cabildo, Les mamelles de Tirésias, and The Little Prince.

Her work with Opera Colorado has included productions of: Samson et Dalila, The Flying Dutchman, Don Giovanni, Turandot, Die Tote Stadt, Rigoletto, Carmen, The Shining, Tosca, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, Le nozze di Figaro, La traviata, Falstaff, Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, La fanciulla del West, and the world premiere of Steal a Pencil for Me (Gerald Cohen).

Previously, Ms. Nouri has been part of the music staff at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo!Vail, Opera Parallèle, Opera North Carolina, Glimmerglass Festival, Utah Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, Opera Steamboat, Merola Opera, Boston Conservatory of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

An active performer, she has given numerous recitals around the US including those alongside international stars Mane Galoyan, Heidi Melton, and Matthew Polenzani. A multi-lingual coach, she has studied in Czechia, Italy, and Austria and is frequently in demand as a language coach.

Ms. Nouri is a former violinist who has performed with Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra and has won several prizes, for both violin and piano, in national music festivals and competitions in Iran.