Producer, cultural innovator, and historian Austin Stewart was named Artistic Director of Arbor Opera Theater in May 2018. From 2015-2017 he served as Audience Engagement Coordinator with Michigan Opera Theatre, curating community outreach programs for adult and college-aged audiences, Opera Clubs, the MOT Ambassadors, as well as the OperaHERE podcast and community lecture series, and consulted on content and messaging to partner organizations throughout Metro Detroit. A PhD candidate in Historical Musicology at the University of Michigan, Austin was the inaugural recipient of the Hans T. David Award, as well as a recipient of awards for excellence in undergraduate instruction. He researches opera and civic identity in the American West during the nineteenth century, with an emphasis on the theatres, performances, and artists encountered by the citizens of Denver.