Shira Samuels-Shragg will assume her new position as assistant conductor for the Spokane Symphony in August, while maintaining her current assistant conductor post with the Plano Symphony. Recently, Shira guest conducted interdisciplinary concerts with the Spokane, Corpus Christi, and South Bend symphonies. She is passionate about sharing the wonders of music with young audiences and has led education concerts with the Spokane and Plano symphonies for over 23,000 students, served as cover conductor for Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic, and co-founded Plano Symphony’s Summer Youth Orchestra Camp. In May 2022, Shira graduated with her MM in conducting from The Juilliard School, and she holds a BA in Music from Swarthmore College.