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.
Nicholas Borg
Administrative Director
Nicholas Borg is an operatic portfolio artist, with experience as an arts administrator, classical Bass-Baritone, and video editor. Nicholas brings his extensive performing experience and community minded arts creation to his practice as an arts administrator. Nicholas was Managing Director of the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto, and was Administrative Assistant with the University of Toronto Opera. He is also the General Manager for Muse 9 Productions: a small artist collective whose productions promote the stories and creativity of women through interdisciplinary music theatre.
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As a performer, this past season Nicholas performed as bass soloist in Messiah for Masterworks of Oakville, baritone soloist in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs for RESOUND Choir, and was a soloist in HMS Pinafore with the Cellar Singers of Orillia. In opera, Nicholas has performed Dandini in La Cenerentola for Manitoba Opera, and Alexander Graham Bell in Dean Burry/Lorna MacDonald’s The Bells of Baddeck, as well as Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte and Marchese in La Traviata for Brott Opera. In 2019-20 Nicholas was a member of the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program at Vancouver Opera, where he performed the roles of Barone Douphol in La traviata and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Nicholas has been a chorus member of the Canadian Opera Company and a soloist for the Toronto Operetta Theatre, Voicebox: Opera in Concert, MYOpera, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, the Grand Philharmonic Choir, and the Windsor Symphony Orchestra.
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Nicholas was video editor on Pacific Opera Victoria’s Music Alive series of music videos from 2020-2023. He took part in the Manitoba Opera Digital Emerging Artists Program in 2020 which focused on operatic performance and digital skills including digital content creation and audio/video editing. Nicholas has created social media video content for several arts organizations across Ontario. Nicholas now brings video editing skills to many aspects of his career as a tool for engagement and marketing. Nicholas holds a Masters of Music from the University of Toronto and a Bachelors of Music from McGill University.
Alexander Cappellazzo
Development and Client Relations Manager
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Alexander Cappellazzo’s experience lies both on and off the stage of Canada’s musical scene. He holds a B.Mus and M.Mus in Opera and Vocal Performance from McGill’s Schulich School of Music, is the founder of the Diapente Renaissance Vocal Quintet and Apocryphonia Concert Series, and performs regularly with opera companies and choirs across Ontario. His experience in grant writing includes successful funding requests from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Ralph Vaughan Williams Foundation. Alex's passion for creating a vibrant, thriving and inclusive musical culture in Toronto is what drives him; a passion TCO also shares.