Artistic Team
Brent Douglas
Music Director
Brent Douglas is in his fourth season as Music Director of The Venice Chorale. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Venice Opera and Chorus Master for Gulfshore Opera. He recently appeared with the Vidin Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria) and the Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival (Sicily). In addition, he performs as a keyboardist with leading Florida ensembles, including The Florida Orchestra, Sarasota Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, and St. Pete Baroque.
Brent’s career spans symphonic, operatic, and choral music, bringing him to stages across the U.S. and internationally with collaborations including the London Classical Players, Berlin Sinfonietta, and the National Women’s Chorus of Cuba. He previously served as Director of Orchestra and Chorus at Eckerd College for nine years and Assistant Conductor of the Tampa Bay Symphony for two seasons. He has conducted at renowned festivals such as the Vienna Summer Music Festival, Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina, and MusicaRiva Festival in Italy. A career highlight was his groundbreaking blacklight production of The Magic Flute with the Düsseldorf Lyric Opera in Germany.
Beyond conducting, Brent is an accomplished vocal coach and opera pianist with partnerships spanning St. Petersburg Opera, Opera Tampa, and the Savannah Voice Festival. His imaginative improv-opera, The Carnival of the Animals, premiered at the Vienna Summer Music Festival in 2019, and he founded an annual opera recital series in Sicily, where he spends his summers.
Brent is also an advocate for new music. In 2024-2025, four of his works were premiered as composer and arranger, and he has founded two composition initiatives to support composers, including The Venice Chorale Choral Composition Competition. A graduate of Missouri State University and the University of South Florida, Brent holds degrees in Piano Performance and Conducting. He has studied with esteemed mentors Markus Stenz (Hanns Eisler School of Music-Berlin), Gerard Schwarz (Frost School of Music), James Bass (UCLA), Kenneth Kiesler (University of Michigan), and Leonardo Catalanotto (Scarlatti Conservatory, Sicily).
Nadia Sawa
Youth Choir Director
Nadia Sawa has joined the The Venice Chorale as Youth Choir Director effective July 2026. Nadia is a dynamic middle school choir director and music educator with experience developing inclusive, multi-cultural and high-performing choral programs. Skilled in youth vocal development, recruitment and retention, community engagement, and collaborative arts leadership. She is an experienced vocalist, conductor, pianist, and clarinetist passionate about fostering musical excellence and a life-long love of music in young students. She holds both Master and Bachelor degrees in Music Education from Syracuse University.
NATALIA VAN GENDEREN
Principal Choral Accompanist
Natalia Van Genderen is a graduate of the Nizhny Novgorod Conservatory, Master’s degree (Russia), specializing in Music Performance in Forte Piano, with a secondary Major in Music Education. Natalia held the position of Concert Master for the Yaroslavl Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Principal Accompanist for the Philharmonic’s Concert Chorale and solo singers, in addition to performing widely as a solo pianist.
Being a part of an orchestra and as solo accompanist, Natalia collaborated with famous singers as Olga Senderskaya, who affiliates with Zubin Mehta, Vera Dobrolyubova, as well as with world famous conductors such Yury Bashmet, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov and many others, having performed at legendary venues, including the Bolshoi Theater, the Mariinsky Theatre, The Great Hall of The Moscow Conservatory, Tchaikovsky Hall.
In 2021, Natalia moved to the US, where she has successfully continued her professional career as a Concert Master, Accompanist, Piano Instructor, and performer.
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