Mona Lands, pianist, coach/accompanist, recently retired from the UCLA Music Department after 25 years.  A Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Mills College, she studied piano under Egon Petri and composition under Darius Milhaud and received her graduate degree in accompanying from USC under Gwendolyn Koldofsky and Brooks Smith.

Ms. Lands worked 10 years for the Palm Springs Showcase from 1994 through 2003.  She has worked as Music Director for the Palm Springs Opera Guild since 1996 and played for the annual competition from 1996 tthrough 2014.  She continues to program the Palm Springs Opera Guild’s annual Opera in the Park.  She has been the Music Director/pianist for The Opera Buffs from 1991 through 2014 and currently is the Artistic Coordinator for their annual Concert Opera, runs and coordinates the Auditions Program and the Artists of the Future Competition.

She has worked as accompanist and coach at California State Northridge, California State L.A., the Aspen Opera Theater Center, Opera Pacific’s Overture Company, the Ezio Pinza Council (EPCASO) summer program, and Guild Opera. She has been active planning concert programs for smaller organizations such as Opera 100, Hadassah, Opera Associates, and concerts of Walter Jurmann music.  She was also the accompanist for the Angeles Chorale for 18 years and the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition for 12 years.  She was honored at the Zachary Society’s annual Viennese luncheon and by the Palm Springs Showcase.