Founder and Artistic Director
Transylvanian Opera Academy
Dr. Elizabeth Askren, an accomplished and celebrated conductor, has two primary passions: music, and being an effective leader that brings the power of music to as many people and communities as possible. The combination of these two led her to Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) Executive Education, where she first completed Nonprofit Financial Stewardship in 2014. She then returned in 2021 to hone her leadership skills to navigate the nonprofit foundation she founded, Transylvanian Opera Academy (TOA), Romania’s first opera studio, through an extremely precarious time for her industry.
Remembering how much of an impact Nonprofit Financial Stewardship had on her leadership abilities, Elizabeth sought out more learning opportunities at HKS to help her meet the moment. “I believe that the HKS programs equipped me with analytical and strategic tools that are essential to lead nonprofit institutions with a calm hand and broad vision through these initial years of a new world: the post-COVID, AI era,” she said. She received her Executive Certificate in Nonprofit Leadership after matriculating through Negotiation Strategies: Building Agreement Across Boundaries, and Persuasive Communication: Narrative, Evidence, and Impact.
Elizabeth described the qualities that contribute to making an executive education program at HKS different from other learning opportunities. “The programs offer a concise power boost to nonprofit leaders looking to hone their decision-making and directive skills,” she said. “It attracts an international mix of professionals from governmental, NGO, higher educational, and artistic sectors. The cross-pollination of multi-cultural ideas and specialties is thrilling, while the course content is expertly curated by HKS's excellent professors. I would highly recommend this experience to leaders in all nonprofit sectors.”
Founding and serving as the Artistic Director for TOA is one just aspect of Elizabeth’s multifaceted career. In 2024 she was named Hawai'i Opera Theatre's inaugural Principal Guest conductor, and OperaAmerica awarded her a 2024 Opera Grant as Music Director of composer Paola Prestini and poet Brenda Shaughnessey’s Sensorium Ex. She is a Master Teacher at The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors and at the Paris Opera’s Academy, and made history as a judge for the Paris Philharmonic’s inaugural La Maestra Competition for Women Conductors. Her work also reaches younger audiences through the series MaestraMagic! she created for children, which combines animation and live action to instill the beauty of conducting in a new generation.
Much of this work came to fruition after the Covid-19 pandemic, and Elizabeth was grateful to have completed HKS programs that allowed her to pursue them with the most effective leadership skills possible. “After two seasons of complete silence, the 2022-23 season roared to life for me, and I've never been so busy!” she said. “Navigating these turbulent times, which have been particularly precarious for the performing arts, has required great flexibility, innovation, and resilience. The tools and concepts acquired during my programs at HKS have helped significantly, contributing to my recent appointment as Hawai'i Opera Theatre's inaugural Principal Guest Conductor, TOA's innovative online opera masterclass series, and MaestraMagic!'s production of season 1.”
We look forward to seeing the global impact Elizabeth continues to make through her music and her unwavering commitment as a leader in the nonprofit world.