Our Team
Haley Marie Stark, Executive Director
Haley Marie Stark (Harvard College Theater, Dance & Media; Psychology) graduated from Harvard College in 2025 with highest honors in Theater, Dance & Media and a double concentration in Psychology. She was awarded the Louis Sudler Prize, presented annually by the Office for the Arts in recognition of exceptional achievement and distinction in the arts across a student's undergraduate body of work.
During her time at Harvard, Stark directed and produced sixteen full-length productions with the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, the American Repertory Theater, and regional companies throughout New England, while also serving on the board of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players. She stage directed Lowell House Opera's past three productions and is delighted to serve as Executive Director for the upcoming season.
Alongside her directing work, Stark conducted research through the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, examining the psychological, social, and biological histories that shape recurring themes in modern drama. Her honors thesis, The Earthen Brothers; or, The Unmaking of the Übermensch, is a paratheatrical novel that weaves together script typography, dramaturgical inquiry, and sustained engagement with theater history. The project is currently under shopping agreement for a feature film adaptation in Los Angeles.
She is also studying American Sign Language at The Learning Center for the Deaf and improvisational comedy at Improv Asylum—one to communicate more broadly, the other to recover gracefully when things inevitably go off script!
haleystark@fas.harvard.edu | director@lowellhouseopera.com | haleystarktheater.com | @hmstark
Arianna Paz, Artistic Director
Mezzo soprano Arianna Paz is an opera and musical theatre crossover performer praised for her “warmth of timber and accomplishments as a comedienne” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) and her “all-encompassing” interpretation of song (New England Gilbert & Sullivan Society). She is absolutely delighted to be working with Lowell House Opera this year as its Artistic Director, having originated the role of Inez in last year’s world premiere production of Ethan Chaves’ No Exit. Most recently,
Arianna spent her summer as a Studio Artist in San Diego with Opera NEO, singing and serving as dance captain in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia and the US premiere of Louise Bertin’s Fausto. Previous stage credits include Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Druid City Opera, Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with both Lowell House Opera and Opera NexGen, Pane in Cavalli’s La Calisto with Mannes Opera, and Zerlina (cover) in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Long Island Lyric Opera. She also spent two summer seasons as a Resident Young Artist with the Ohio Light Opera. In concert, she has appeared as a soloist in Berio’s Sinfonia in Alice Tully Hall, the world premiere of Randall Eng and Tracy K. Smith’s Harbor in Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops, the Festival Internazionale di Mezza Estate with the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, and at Feinstein’s/54 Below.
After graduating from Harvard in 2019 with a BA in Psychology, Arianna went on to receive her MM in Vocal Performance & Opera from the Mannes School of Music in NYC. She is the current Artist in Residence at the Signet Society. www.ariannapazritaccio.com. @apazritaccio
Reuben Stern, Music Director
Personal connection, identity, and the human capacity for empathy guide the music-making of conductor Reuben Stern. Active in the Greater Boston area, Reuben is the founder and music director of the Orchestra Book Club and assistant conductor for the Apollo Ensemble. Last season, Reuben served as music director for the Lowell House Opera's production of No Exit.
Reuben completed their graduate work at the Peabody Institute under Marin Alsop and Joseph Young, and their undergraduate work at Harvard University, where they studied with Federico Cortese. They were the second person ever to hold a three-year tenure as music director of Harvard’s Bach Society Orchestra, leading praised performances of Sibelius’s 7th Symphony, Florence Price’s 1st Symphony (New England premiere), and Bacewicz’s Concerto for String Orchestra, among others.
A staunch advocate for the music of Grażyna Bacewicz, Reuben has collaborated with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Schott Music to lead the North American premiere of Bacewicz’s Symphony for String Orchestra. They are fiercely committed to improving representation in classical music across gender, race, religion, social status, and ability.
Reuben holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Harvard University. Outside the concert hall, they enjoy powerlifting, math, and origami. Reuben works as a research scientist for Colfax International, studying accelerated computing.
Alicia Chu, Stage Director
Alicia Chu is a junior at Harvard College studying Economics and Government and a dual-degree candidate in Vocal Performance at the New England Conservatory of Music studying under Professor Jane Eaglen. She is thrilled to return to LHO for her third season, this time as a stage director.
Recent highlights include directing the immersive production of Carolyn Hao’s The Crane Wife’s Return of a Favor: A New Musical at the Harvard CAMLab, as well as directing and choreographing HRG&SP’s The Pirates of Penzance last fall. This summer, she also served as an artistic intern on Diane Paulus’ Masquerade NYC.
As a performer, she has appeared with LHO, HCO, HRDC, AADT, HRMDC, and many others. She would like to thank her parents, friends, mentors, and the entire LHO cast and crew for their continued support.
Board of Directors: Kenneth Kaufman (President), Steven Coit, David Laibson, Nina Zipser, Beth Terry, Edward Elwyn Jones, Noam Elkies, James C.S. Liu, Benjamin T. Rossen, John Shutkin, Rachel Yurman