Khori Dastoor

Khori Dastoor has served as the general director and CEO of Houston Grand Opera since 2021. The fourth general director in company history, Dastoor embodies an unwavering dedication to the transformative power of art and its role in ensuring civic vitality. Her leadership has steered HGO against prevailing industry trends, fostering unparalleled fiscal stability, audience growth, and programmatic expansion. With an ardent belief in accessibility, Dastoor has championed initiatives to ensure every member of Houston’s diverse international community has access to fine art and has expanded HGO’s programming to cater to multigenerational audiences and extend beyond the theater walls.

Named one of Houston’s Most Admired CEOs by Houston Business Journal (2023) and honored as one of the city’s 50 Most Influential Women by Houston Woman Magazine (2022), Khori Dastoor secured a $22 million private gift for HGO’s endowment foundation, the largest in the company’s history, in 2023. Also in 2023, she spearheaded HGO’s new partnership with Apple Classical, expanding the company’s reach and sharing its world-class artistry with audiences across the globe.
HGO’s 2023-24 season has seen an influx of new audiences to the company, with two productions, The Sound of Music and Madame Butterfly, attracting more single-ticket buyers than any other HGO offering in well over a decade. The season opened with the world premiere of Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s internationally acclaimed world-premiere opera Intelligence, also one of HGO’s top-selling single-ticket productions in many years. Speaking to the New York Times about Intelligence, Dastoor said, “We can be an important opera company, but also maintain our nimbleness and spirit of innovation. We aren’t having debates about whether change is good. We’re always thinking about what’s next.”

Meeting the needs of families in the ever-growing metropolis of Houston is another important focus for Khori Dastoor. In its 2024-25 season, HGO will present the first annual HGO Family Day Presents Cinderella, a special day for Houston families headlined by a relaxed-environment performance of Rossini’s opera, directed by superstar mezzo-soprano and working mom, Isabel Leonard.

As a fervent advocate for the art form, Khori Dastoor serves on the board of OPERA America, is a frequent guest lecturer at universities nationwide, and leads industry efforts in identifying young talent as a judge for numerous international vocal competitions.

Before joining HGO, Dastoor served as the general director of Opera San José. She also enjoyed a vibrant international singing career and was a member of foundation leadership at the Packard Humanities Institute and the Wadhwani Foundation.