Carleen Graham, Ed.D.

Carleen Graham (she|her) is the Inaugural Dean of the Division of Vocal Arts & Collaborative Piano at Manhattan School of Music. A native of Ohio’s beautiful Hocking Hills region where she taught public school general music and chorus, her career has encompassed educational, artistic, and community-building work in music and opera for over 40 years.

Currently, Dr. Graham is a board member of the National Opera Center, Co-Chair of OPERA America’s Women’s Opera Network, and serves on OA’s Learning and Leadership Council and Singer Development Forum. She is also a member of the National Opera Association having previously served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of Conventions. She participated in Yale Innovations Summit’s Arts Sector Think Tank in 2024 and has adjudicated the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont district competitions since 2018.

Prior to MSM, she was Director of HGOco, Houston Grand Opera’s celebrated community and learning initiative where she oversaw the commissioning of 17 chamber operas and vocal-based works, 30 educational and community programs, and developed Cultivating Empathy through Music & Storytelling, a versatile professional development workshop that has been utilized by numerous Houston-based educational and community partners srving over 2000 participants.

Dr. Graham is a State University of New York Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita and was Director of the award-winning Crane Opera Ensemble at SUNY Potsdam for 25 years, earning numerous awards for teaching and opera direction. She was instrumental in the development of the Domenic J. Pellicciotti Opera Composition Prize and was a co-founder, along with Stephanie Blythe, of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar. Professional stage directing credits include productions of traditional and new works for Houston Grand Opera, Hawaií Performing Arts Festival, Tri-Cities Opera, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Central City Opera, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others.

Dr. Graham holds degrees from Teachers College Columbia University, New England Conservatory of Music, and Ohio University.