Khori Dastoor

"Opera is for those who seek it, and those who find something truthful in it. And, lucky for people who live in Houston, Texas, they live next to one of the finest world-class institutions."

Khori Dastoor

General Director and CEO

Khori Dastoor joined Houston Grand Opera as General Director and CEO in August 2021. During her first season with the company, Dastoor oversaw the expansion of online art-sharing initiative HGO Digital to include the first livestream of a company world premiere, The Snowy Day, for viewers in 35 countries. Under her leadership HGO has commissioned a new, original, mainstage production for its 2022-23 season, Dame Ethel Smyth’s 1906 opera The Wreckers, which represents the first staging of the composer’s forgotten masterpiece by a professional American opera company. In 2022, Dastoor served as a judge for the Richard Tucker Awards and the live finals of the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Dastoor serves on the Board of Directors for Opera America, where she is the Co-Chair of the Learning and Leadership Council and a founding member and mentor for the Mentorship Program for Opera Leaders of Color. Before joining HGO, Dastoor was the General Director of Opera San José, which during her tenure established financial stability, a broader, more diverse audience and patron base, and its own digital media studio. She previously served as the Associate Director of The Packard Humanities Institute, where she worked on initiatives encompassing arts, music, and archaeology. Dastoor holds a bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree from UCLA. An artist herself, she is a lyric soprano who has performed on stages throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. She and her husband are the proud parents of two young daughters

Press Announcement 

To learn more about Khori Dastoor's new appointment, read our official press release here.