DAVID MERRITT – President/Tour Director 

David has been arranging and directing opera tours around the globe since 2000. His attention to detail and focus on client service has won wide praise from those with whom he has travelled.

David has a degree in English Literature and Political Science from the University of Western Ontario, and he studied Law at the University of British Columbia. He is also an accomplished musician, having released numerous recordings since 1994 as a member of various groups. His compositions have received substantial radio play in Canada, as well as in the US and Europe. He is a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada.

GIORGIO KANDRAVY – Tour Director

Since 1978, Giorgio has directed and coordinated countless tours around the world for some of the leading cultural travel operators. Since June of 2004, Giorgio has directed tours with Tauck World Discovery, specializing in leading their main Italian tours. For over fifteen years, he directed and coordinated tours for Ovations International, and before that time, he planned and escorted tours with Dailey-Thorp Travel for over thirteen years. He has also directed and planned tours and cruises for Travel Dynamics, the Russian Travel Bureau, and Group Consultants International.

Giorgio speaks German, French and Italian, and can get by in Rusyn, Ukrainian and Russian. He has a Law degree from Georgetown University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers College. Giorgio has worked as an Assistant United States Attorney, and as an Attorney-Adviser in the US Department of Housing & Urban Development. He left the practise of law in the early 1970s for a life of music and travel, and has never looked back.
 

RICHARD KOEGL – Tour Director

Richard is an experienced director and planner of high end educational, cultural and adventure tours, and is one of the most widely respected and sought after experts on comparative cultural and educational travel.

Richard received his Masters in Music in Paris and is highly regarded for his work as a travel photographer, shooting for tour operators, travel magazines and America’s leading cultural, educational and scientific agencies including National Geographic Traveler, Butterfield & Robinson and Holland America Cruises.

 CHRISTINE MCLAUGHLIN – Tour Director

Christine is a retired Elementary School teacher who has taught in England, Montreal and Ottawa. During her teaching days she was highly involved in community science-related projects, junior choirs, directing musicals and plays and mentoring younger teachers. She was instrumental in demonstrating how schools can improve their surroundings by planting trees and shrubs and is herself an avid gardener. Christine also has a great love for music, and she was a piano teacher for many years.

In addition to directing tours for Aria, Christine is the coordinator of a volunteer program at the National Gallery of Canada called Looking at Pictures where she directs over 50 volunteers in taking art reproductions into Elementary Schools. She is also a member of the Friends of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, assisting with the concerts and the Summer Institute for Young Musicians. She assists the Arts Bureau for the Continents organization with choirs during the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa.
 

JAN MURANTY – Tour Director

 Jan is our Central European expert and one of our primary directors. He has led countless opera tours over the years and is not only a superb director but also one of the finest guides in Warsaw, his hometown. He has escorted our groups in Scandinavia, Russia, Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Educated as a classical musician, Jan holds a Master of Arts in Composition and Theory of Music, but has incorporated his love and knowledge of history to his cultural tour directing. He is fluent in several languages and has worked as a translator. He lives in Warsaw with his wife and two children.
 

TANA ROSS - Tour Director

Tana grew up in Sweden and has lived in New York City for the past 40 years. She has been directing tours world-wide for many years and has worked as a guide in New York. Among the many cultural and study groups she has directed over the years, she has always taken great pleasure in leading opera groups. She has made several award-winning documentaries, does voice-over work and simultaneous translation for theatre and films.