During the 2026-27 season, pianist and vocal coach Michael Banwarth joins HGO’s music staff and serves as Children's Chorus Director for Der Rosenkavalier. His other HGO assignments include assisting in the overall musical preparation of Aida and Der Rosenkavalier as well as playing celesta in the pit orchestra for Der Rosenkavalier. Elsewhere during the season, he returns for guest appointments at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he recently completed three years as the ensemble pianist for the Ryan Opera Center. During his tenure with the program, he served as Assistant Conductor for productions of Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci, Blue, and Champion. With a particular passion for art song and recital repertoire, Banwarth has appeared in the Carnegie Hall Citywide series, The Florentine Opera’s Al Fresco series, and Classical Music Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts. He has served on the music staff of the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Neumarkt, Germany for two summers. As an avid performer of crossover repertoire, musical theater, and American standards, his arrangements have been heard on WFMT 98.7FM and at venues including the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park.