Equally at home in opera and musical theater, and involved with the development of more than two dozen new works, Brian DeMaris has established a national reputation as a renowned performer and highly impactful educator. 

Currently associate professor and artistic director of music theatre and opera at ASU, DeMaris has most recently innovated new ways of practicing and performing — working with faculty and students to incorporate technology enabling live performances, addressing issues of systemic racism and inherent bias in musical theater and opera, and collaborating with the greater university and musical theater and opera staff and faculty to produce new “outdoor rooms” for students with shaded seating, power, lighting and Wi-Fi. 

DeMaris has produced developmental workshops of six new works at ASU with professional collaborators including American Lyric Theatre, Beth Morrison Projects and The Phoenix Theatre Company. DeMaris has appeared at the United Nations, the Aspen Music Festival, Boston’s Jordan Hall, New York’s Studio 54, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Alice Tully Hall and in recitals, competitions and master classes throughout the U.S. and abroad. Likewise, he has worked with many well-known musical establishments including New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Syracuse Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Anchorage Opera, El Paso Opera, American Opera Projects, American Lyric Theater, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Music Saint Croix and the Israel Chamber Orchestra.