Alaina is an opera stage director, conductor and production manager based out of Toronto. She is the founder and Artistic Director of indie opera company Loose TEA Theatre. With them she has directed and written a re-imagined Dissociative Me (Gounod), Love in the Age of AutoCorrect (Mozart/Stravinsky) and La Tragedie de Carmen (Bizet). Currently the company is working on a re-imagination of Bizet’s Carmen as #YesAllWomen that discusses current social issues like gender equality, class society and the impacts of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Alaina is developing a new series with Carly Heffernan from Second City called “Whose Opera is it Anyway” where the games from the popular show inspire similar games for improvised opera.  Last year Loose TEA was invited to perform for the Rhubarb Festival 2016 with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre with Trance Symphony No.5, a Trance/Classical Dance experience of Beethoven’s popular Symphony no.5 with live orchestra and trace DJ. Musical Toronto has said “If this is any indication of the direction of Loose Tea in the future – you’ll want to see what they come up with next”.

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Alaina is the Artistic Director for Ottawa’s newest indie opera company, SOPAC. In their inaugural season they presented a double bill of Suor Angelica and Pagliacci to critical acclaim “This opera was almost unbelievably powerful, and so well sung and acted - what a performance! SOPAC is obviously a class act” (National Capital Opera Society). She looks forward to working on the 17-18 season with them.

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Last year Alaina directed L’isola Disabitata for Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra in Ottawa for their 40th anniversary. She was apprentice director for Joel Ivany at the Canadian Opera Company with Carmen, and assistant director for a staged Mozart’s Requiem with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She is working again with Mr. Ivany as Assistant Director for TSO’s staging of Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins in June.

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She has apprenticed with Atom Egoyan at the COC’s Die Walkure (Wagner) in 2015. Alaina has also assisted Ashlie Corcoran at the Royal Conservatory of Music with Don Giovanni(Mozart) in 2013. Prior to moving to Toronto in 2012, Alaina directed Le Nozze di Figaro (Mozart) in London UK, Into the Woods (Sondheim) and Annie (Strouse/Charnin) in Ottawa.

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As a conductor, Alaina spent all of 2014 studying the symphonies of Beethoven and leading concerts of all nine symphonies with the Glenn Gould School Student Orchestra. At the Royal Conservatory of Music, Alaina assisted Lior Shambadal (Beethoven Symphony No.3), Uri Mayer (Brahms Symphony No.1) and with Orchestra Toronto under Kevin Mallon (Brahms Symphony No.1). Alaina apprenticed on the Glenn Gould School Operas with Uri Mayer on The Cunning Little Vixen (Janacek),  and La Belle Helene (Offenbach). With Christopher Mokrzewski, Alaina has assistant conducted Against the Grain Theatre’s staged Messiah in 2013 and 2015.  While working with Atom Egoyan on Die Walkure, Alaina worked double duty and also apprentice conducted with Johannes Debus.

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Alaina currently works with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as the Assistant Production Manager and previously worked for the Glenn Gould School as the Orchestra and Opera Manager.