Our Team
Jennifer Tung
Artistic Director
A Dora nominated conductor (Gould's Wall), Chinese-Canadian Jennifer Tung is the artistic director of Toronto City Opera and assistant conductor of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra. She leads a uniquely versatile career as music director, collaborative pianist and soprano. In 2020/21, she joined Tapestry Opera as a conducting fellow in the inaugural year of the Women in Musical Leadership program, in partnership with Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Pacific Opera Victoria.
Jennifer debuted with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival conducting The Mikado in 2017 and has returned to conduct Sweeney Todd and Tragedy of Carmen. In 2019, she debuted with Opera York in La Traviata and assisted Tapestry Opera and Opera on the Avalon’s joint production of the Dora Award winning opera Shanawdithit by Dean Burry and Yvette Nolan. Recently, she conducted the world premiere of "Gould’s Wall" by Brian Current and Liza Balken, a joint production with the Royal Conservatory of Music and Tapestry Opera.
For the 2022/23 season, she has debuted as guest conductor with Opera McGill's production of "Plaything" (Anna Pigorna/Maria Reva - Canadian premiere), Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic and Kamloops Symphony. In March of 2023, Jennifer conducted the world premieres of Continuum's production of the opera "Show Room" (Rodney Sharman/Atom Egoyan) as well as Tapestry Opera/Obsidian Theatre's co-production of "Of the Sea" (Ian Cusson/Kanika Ambrose). Upcoming engagements include concerts with Kamloops symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia and Vancouver Opera.
Jennifer is on faculty at Toronto’s Glenn Gould School, and is a sought-after faculty member for summer programs internationally. She holds degrees in vocal performance and collaborative piano from the Eastman School of Music and has studied conducting with Maestro Denis Mastromonaco.
Ivan Estey Jovanovic
Music Director
Ivan Estey Jovanovic is a sought-after collaborative pianist and vocal coach recognized for his rich understanding of the classical canon and Slavic opera repertoire. Jovanovic’s music education began in Serbia at the Belgrade University of Arts, Faculty of Music where he completed his BMus and MMus in piano performance. During his studies in Belgrade, Jovanovic was recognized for his solo piano performances, claiming prestigious awards at state competitions. In 2004, he joined Belgrade Opera Orchestra as a répétiteur and concert pianist, firstly at the Young Artist Program (Operatic Studio). In 2005 he joined the staff as a principal vocal coach, mastering an enormous opera repertoire under the baton of the chief conductor Dejan Savic. While working with Maestro Savic, Jovanovic honed his skills both at the piano and harpsichord for productions of Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck), Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Don Giovanni (Mozart), Il matrimonio segreto (Cimarosa), L'Italiana in Algeri (Rossini), Hassan-Aga’s Wife (Kambasković), and L'amour des trois oranges (Prokofiev).
In the Belgrade National Theatre, Jovanovic had the extraordinary opportunity to work closely with internationally celebrated conductors, such as Dorian Wilson, Mladen Jagust, Jon Janku, Ilmar Lapins, Simone Fermani, Srboljub Dinic, Marco Berdondini and David Porcelijn. During composer/conductor Johannes Harneit’s residency in Belgrade, Jovanovic was the main répétiteur for the productions of Salome (Strauss) and Carmen (Bizet).
After a recital series in Toronto, Jovanovic fell in love with Canada. He returned to Toronto to complete his MMus. in Collaborative Piano from the University of Toronto under the professorship of Steven Philcox, to further his knowledge of opera, art song, and oratorio. After winning the 2013 prestigious Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying, he joined the UofT Opera Division as a vocal coach and pianist. Presently, he is a regular vocal coach and harpsichordist in UofT’s Early Music Department and Schola Cantorum. In 2018, Jovanovic began his collaboration with Toronto Lyric Opera as the primary vocal coach/harpsichordist. From 2014 to present, Jovanovic has been the accompanist at Toronto City Opera and in 2017 extended his role to Music Director. Jovanovic loves how his work with TCO brings him even closer to the Toronto music community and audience.
Stephen Carr
Director Development and Engagement
Stephen has a B.Mus. Voice Performance and Literature and an M.Mus. Stage Directing from the Eastman School of Music. He received a Postgraduate Diploma (with highest honors) in Musical Theatre and a Teaching License from the Royal Academy of Music, London. In 2009 he was in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera. He is currently pursuing a PhD in musicology and ethnomusicology at York University, as well as teaching at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music.
He spent eight years on the faculty of the Eastman School of Music as an Associate Professor and Associate Artistic Director of Eastman Opera Theatre, where his production of Les Dialogues des Carmelites was awarded the American Prize for Stage Directing.
His other recent directing work has included Lucia di Lammermoor with the Korean National Symphony, Turandot and Tosca at the Seoul Arts Center, Le Nozze di Figaro with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and engagements with the Washington National Opera, Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Daegu Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera North, Daejeon Opera, Opera Naples, Ohio Light Opera, and Center City Opera of Philadelphia.