Cast

Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra

Michelle Di Russo — Conductor

Joseph Sieber — Conductor

Susanna Mälkki — Conductor, teacher

Baldur Brönnimann

Michelle Di Russo has been selected as a Dudamel Fellowship with LA Phil for the 23/24 season. She will be working closely covering for the season and perform a concert with the orchestra. Stay tuned!

Beyond the Stage Interview for the magazine "Crescendo" for the Napa Valley Festival. 

You can watch the performance of The Dallas Opera Institute for Women Conductors until January 11th 2022 for free by clicking on "more" below.

The American Austrian Foundation Faber Fellowship provides promising young conductors (age 30 or younger) from the United States the opportunity to spend up to four weeks at the Salzburg Festival observing the world’s leading conductors and artists at work during rehearsals and performances.

Michelle has been featured in an article for ASU NOW on her recent accomplishments and tracing her experiences at Arizona State University when pursuing her doctoral degrees. To read the article, click below.

Michelle was invited to be a featured speaker and present on her research on female conductors that have emigrated to the U.S. She was also part of a panel about the profession in the U.S. with Antonia Joy Wilson as moderator.

Michelle defended her research paper in April 2020 titled "A Survey on a Set of Emigreé Female Conductors in the U.S.: Challenges and Perceptions. She now is a Doctor of Musical Arts with emphasis in Orchestral Conducting, title granted by Arizona State University.

This season, March is guest conductor month for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and this month’s Chamber Classics opportunity on Sunday afternoon at the Bijou Theatre went to Michelle di Russo, currently Associate Conductor with North Carolina Symphony. 

Michelle Di Russo has been selected as a conducting fellow to participate in the Lucerne Festival Contemporary.-Conducting Program. 

In tribute to Maestro Revzen, Festival Napa Valley is honored to annually award the Joel Revzen Conducting Fellowship, a career development grant and performance opportunity for a promising young conductor. Find out more about the performances on the link below.

"Guest conductor will shape, strengthen traditions at Symphony of Toys concert" - The article talks about Michelle's debut with the Missouri Symphony with their concert Symphony of Toys.

As a co-creator of Girls Who Conduct, Michelle will be part of the organizing committee for the Symposium for Women Conductors. She will be attending as a participant, moderator and technical support. 

Girls Who Conduct is an initiative created in 2020 to empower and encourage the upcoming generations of women, women-identifying, and non-binary conductors by providing a program for mentorship, camaraderie, and training in order to foster diversity and inclusion in classical music. Michelle is a co-creator and instructor in the organization. 

This fellowship provides promising young conductors (age 30 or younger) from the United States the opportunity to spend up to four weeks at the Salzburg Festival observing the world’s leading conductors and artists at work during rehearsals and performances.

On November 10 Delaware Symphony welcomed guest conductor Michelle Di Russo, who offered ¡Música Bravo!, a sparkling, accomplished concert. The evening featured works from Mexico, Argentina (her home), and Spain, capped with a Russian tribute to Spanish music.

Michelle Di Russo has been promoted to the role of Associate Conductor of the North Carolina Symphony (NCS) as of July 1 for a term of two years. Read more about the appointment on the link below.

Read about the season finale performances with Cornell University Chamber and Symphony Orchestras below.

Concert Artists Guild (CAG) has added a new category of young artists to its roster: conductors. The 70-year-old organization has signed Michelle Di Russo to be a part of their young artists roster. 

Michelle will be guest conducting two performances of Peter and the Wolf and Carnival of the Animals that will be live-streamed. She will also be the cover conductor for Sarah Hicks on her performance of "Pops Around the World."

Michelle has been selected as a Conducting Fellow to participate in this groundbreaking institute, which has changed the face of classical music by significantly advancing the careers of women in the most visible position in the orchestra. 

Michelle will be joining Project Inclusion with the Chicago Sinfonietta for the 20/21 season as a Fellow/Auditor.