Called the “world's most popular 21st-century opera and art song composer,” by the Wall Street Journal, Jake Heggie will join SFCM’s composition faculty in Fall, 2025. Heggie is well known for creating ten operas during his long career including Moby Dick, Great Scott, and Dead Man Walking, the last of which is the most widely performed new opera of the last 25 years, with more than 80 international productions since its debut. 

“Collaboration and hard work are at the heart of my creative life, and I see the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as a vibrant hub of possibility and connection,” Heggie said. “Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to workshop several new operas at the Conservatory, working closely with young composers, singers, and instrumentalists – all rich and invaluable experiences.”

Heggie’s relationship with SFCM runs deep. He was the 2023 commencement speaker, where he was awarded an honorary doctorate, and spoke of  “the power of showing up, in life, study, and work.” In January of that year, singers and musicians performed a run-through of his work Intelligence, in front of an audience of SFCM students ahead of its premiere with the Houston Grand Opera. In addition, Heggie workshopped his major opera Great Scott at SFCM back in 2014. 

“I firmly believe in the great work that happens at SFCM, and I’m overjoyed to join the incredible team that shows up for these students every day,” Heggie added .

Heggie at SFCM in 2023.

Over the last 25 years, Heggie has found it especially meaningful to give back to students and share what he's learned by participating in mentorship programs for young composers, as well as short artist residencies at universities, conservatories, and summer programs throughout the United States and abroad.

“Jake Heggie has forged a new canon for opera and inspired the world to embrace this art form in ways rarely observed in the modern classical landscape,” SFCM President David H. Stull said. “His capacity to reach audiences with powerful stories of our shared humanity is astounding, but it is his character and endless personal generosity that capture the hearts of those who know him. We are deeply honored to welcome him to the faculty and look forward to extending our collaborative work into the future.”

Heggie joins SFCM’s Composition Department, which both honors tradition and encourages innovation. Versatile faculty members closely mentor students while maintaining high-profile composing careers. SFCM strongly emphasizes interdepartmental collaboration, matching composers with performers and offering frequent concerts and readings of student works.

Heggie at SFCM's 2023 commencement.

“SFCM’s Composition department is delighted to welcome Jake Heggie to our faculty,” said Chair David Conte. “Our students and entire community will benefit richly from his vast experience.” While joining the Conservatory in 2025 for coachings and masterclasses, Heggie will welcome a studio of students in 2026. Heggie’s role will be known as the Diane Wilsey Distinguished Professor of Composition. 

Heggie has served as an advisor and mentor for Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative, CU Boulder’s New Opera Workshop, and Chicago Opera Theater’s Vanguard Initiative. His own teachers have included Ernst Bacon, with whom he studied composition as a teenager, as well as pianist Johana Harris and composers Roger Bourland, Paul DesMarais, and David Raksin at UCLA. Prior to composing Dead Man Walking, he was mentored by his friend, the late Carlisle Floyd.

Heggie continues to write all his work by hand, believing that a visceral, physical connection to the score is an essential part of composition. Since 1993, he has made his home in San Francisco, where he lives with his husband, Curt Branom.

Learn more about the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Learn more about Jake Heggie.