It’s not every day a musician gets to perform a piece with its original writer, yet that’s exactly what student Vicente Alvarez got to do last week.

Alvarez performed “Wilson’s Aria” from Jake Heggie’s newest opera Intelligence, with Heggie on piano September 13. “This was the first time I had the opportunity to work on an aria directly with the composer,” Alvarez, who studies with Susanne Mentzer, said. “Jake was incredible—always open to hearing my interpretation of the piece and combining it with his own ideas.” 

Composer and SFCM professor Jake Heggie.

The performance was part of a concert called “Jake Heggie: Past, Present, Possible.” The event at SFCM, co-hosted by the San Francisco Opera and Houston Grand Opera, highlighted Heggie's career from his early years to his ten operas, his 2024 appointment to the Opera Hall of Fame, his 2025 Composer of the Year title from Musical America, and his new faculty role at SFCM.

“I'm so proud of Vicente, I found his heartfelt performance absolutely radiant,” Heggie said. “It's a great honor and total joy to embark on this new chapter of my life and career: to have the golden opportunity to give back and share what I've gleaned over the years to the gifted students at SFCM.”

"Jake Heggie: Past, Present, Possible" in SFCM's Concert Hall.

The celebration comes as Heggie’s work Dead Man Walking, the most widely performed new opera of the last 25 years, returns to the San Francisco Opera this season, where it first debuted. “Who could have imagined Dead Man Walking would have this amazing journey?” Heggie continued. Dead Man Walking premiered at SF Opera in 2000, and has gone onto 85 international productions. “The opening on Sunday was electric," Heggie added. "It has been a joy to share all of that with the students in my first class at SFCM, and I can tell it has ignited so much in their imaginations about what is possible. That's what it's all about.”

For Alvarez, who is a new student from Chile, the experience was a great start to his time at the Conservatory. “SFCM has been truly impressive for me: Seeing the high-level teachers we have and how professional and dedicated the students are is both amazing and really inspiring,” Alvarez said. 

Jake Heggie and Vicente Alvarez.

While Heggie celebrates a landmark year, he also looks forward to a new score—of inspiring students. “I'm already having a ball and we've only just begun,” he concluded.

Learn more about studying Composition or Opera and Musical Theatre at SFCM.