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    Nicole Paiement

    Nicole Paiement
    Nicole Paiement

    Nicole Paiement has gained an international reputation as a conductor of contemporary music and opera. Her numerous recordings include many world premiere works.

    Maestro Paiement’s 2012 Dallas Opera debut conducting Peter Maxwell Davies’ 1979 thriller, The Lighthouse earned rave reviews. Subsequently, Paiement was appointed Principal Guest Conductor at The Dallas Opera. Paiement has since returned to Dallas to conduct performances of Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, as well as the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated world premiere of Joby Talbot’s opera Everest, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma. In 2018, Paiement conducted the US premiere of Michel Van Der Aa’s Sunken Garden and most recently in 2022 conducted Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers.

    Founder and Artistic Director of San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle, Paiement has conducted many new productions, including: world premieres of Lou Harrison’s final version of Young Caesar, Dante De Silva’s commissioned opera Gesualdo, Prince of Madness (presented as a graphic opera), Luciano Chessa’s commissioned opera A Heavenly Act, the commissioned chamber version of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the premiere of the re-orchestration of Terence Blanchard’s Champion in collaboration with SFJAZZ Center; West Coast premieres of John Rea’s re-orchestration of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Philip Glass’ Orphée; Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts; Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar; Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias; Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny Songspiel; American Premieres of Adam Gorb’s Anya 17 and Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness; the San Francisco Bay Area return of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking; a new production of Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse; Philip Glass’ Les Enfants Terribles; and Jonathan Dove’s Flight.  In 2017/18 Paiement conducted a new double bill of Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in collaboration with SFJAZZ, as well as Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. Opera Parallèle made its debut at Phillip Glass’ Days & Nights Festival in the 2018/19 season with Glass’ In the Penal Colony. That season also featured Paiement conducting the world premiere performances of Today it Rains, a commissioned opera by Laura Kaminsky based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, and the return of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. In 2021, Paiement was conductor for the company’s groundbreaking film project, Everest – A Graphic Novel Opera. The 2021/22 season saw Paiement lead the West Coast premiere of Lembit Beecher’s Sophia’s Forest, and complete Glass’ Cocteau trilogy with a new production of La Belle et La Bête at SFJAZZ.

    Ms. Paiement is a very active guest conductor. In 2019, she made her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago with Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as well as performances with the Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival (2016 – 2018) and a debut at Seattle Opera with Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Other prior engagements include Talbot’s Everest with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Puts’ Silent Night at The Atlanta Opera and Washington National Opera for the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s The Dictator’s Wife. In 2019 Paiement also conducted the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You with Merola Opera Program, San Francisco. Mo. Paiement made her debut at Opéra de Montréal with the Canadian premiere of Benjamin’s Written on Skin in January 2020 and with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in November 2020.

    In 2022, Mo. Paiement returned to The Dallas Opera for a new production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, and made her UK premiere with the English National Opera conducting It’s a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer. Paiement also returned to the UK in June 2023 to conduct Talbot’s Everest with the BBC Symphony at the Barbican Center, London. Also in the 2022/23 season Mo. Paiement returned to L’Opéra de Montréal with Ainadamar by Golijov and made her concert debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, Italy. For Opera Parallèle, Paiement conducted the premiere of a new chamber orchestration of the Moravec/Campbell opera The Shining in June 2023.

    The 2023/2024 season will include the world premiere of The Emissary (by Kenji Oh & Kelley Rourke) with Opera Parallèle in October 2023  followed by Birds & Balls at SFJAZZ in April 2024. Paiement also returns to the Dallas Opera in March 2024 for Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, as well as a debut with the Volksoper Vienna in June 2024, conducting both a symphonic concert and The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams. Paiement will also return to L’Opéra de Montréal in the 2024/25 Season.

    Paiement has served as the Artistic Director of the BluePrint Project at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works from many living American composers. At SFCM, she holds the Jean and Josette Deleage Distinguished Chair in New Music. Paiement previously served as the Director of Ensembles at the University of California – Santa Cruz (UCSC), where she was awarded the UCSC Eminent Professor Award in 2014. She received the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship in 2015 in recognition of her outstanding contributions and achievement in artistic scholarship and teaching.

    Paiement was awarded American Composer’s Forum’s “Champion of New Music Award” for her outstanding contributions to contemporary music in 2016. In addition to being a leader in the world of contemporary opera, Ms. Paiement is also a specialist in early 20th Century French music and regularly conducts music from the Baroque and Classical repertoire.

     

    Deborah Borda

    Deborah Borda
    Deborah Borda

    Deborah Borda has extended the artistic, commercial, and technological boundaries of what an orchestra can be in the 21st century through creative leadership, commitment to innovation, and progressive vision. She transformed top orchestras on both American coasts—the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic—through the opening of contemporary yet elegant concert halls, introduction of dynamic programming initiatives, and the hiring of Gustavo Dudamel as Music and Artistic Director.

    Borda’s appointment to the NY Phil in the 1990s marked her as the first woman to serve as the chief executive of a major American symphony orchestra. Upon returning to New York in 2017 she worked with Philharmonic and Lincoln Center leadership to transform David Geffen Hall, deepened connections with the community, and engaged Dudamel as the next Music and Artistic Director. On deciding to step down as President and Executive Director, the Orchestra named her its first-ever Executive Advisor to the President and Board of Directors. While at the LA Phil she oversaw the completion of the construction of Walt Disney Hall, the addition of a new shell for the Hollywood Bowl, and the appointment of music director Gustavo Dudamel. The orchestra’s success during her 17-year tenure was chosen for case studies by Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School.

    Deborah Borda’s accomplishments over her career (which also included presiding over the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra) have been acknowledged through a host of honors. She was the first arts executive to join Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership as a Hauser Leader-in-Residence. She has received Honorary Doctor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School (2023), Curtis Institute of Music, Manhattan School of Music, and New England Conservatory. Among her many other accolades include being named an Honorary Member of the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York; the Gold Baton award — the League of American Orchestras’ highest honor; and election to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. She serves as Chair for the Avery Fisher Artist Program, a judge of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition, and on Oxford University’s Humanities Cultural Programme Advisory Council.

     

     

    Maria Benyumova

    Maria Benyumova

    Until 2022 Maria Benyumova worked as a conductor and choral director at Theater Krefeld and Mönchengladbach. As a guest conductor and music promoter she conducted concerts with Jena Philharmonic, New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia, and Beethoven Orchestra Bonn. Maria is part of the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme (2023/24), Mentee Conductor of the TAKI Alsop Conducting Fellowship (2022/23), and Conducting Fellow of the Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellowship (2023). She has worked with Choir Komische Oper Berlin, RIAS Chamber Choir, NDR Choir, and Bavarian Radio Choir. Maria has been sponsored by the Conductors’ Forum of the German Music Council, the Bavarian Radio Choir Forum, the Alfred Toepfer Foundation, and the Liselotte- Klein-Foundation.

    Micah Gleason

    Micah Gleason

    Micah Gleason, Conducting Fellow at the Curtis Institute of Music, has been recognized for her diverse performance abilities as a conductor and vocalist. She holds master’s degrees in Conducting and Voice from Bard College-Conservatory of Music, and is an alumna of notable training programs including the Aspen and Eastern Music Festivals. Interdisciplinary collaboration and community building are fundamental in Micah’s music-making. At home in the worlds of symphonic music and opera, Micah has conducted notable ensembles including The Orchestra Now, Curtis Symphony Orchestra, and Eastern Festival Orchestra; and this season looks forward to working with Curtis Opera Theater, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Opera Philadelphia; and covering for Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Michael Stern, and Robert Spano.

    Shira Samuels-Shragg

    Shira Samuels-Shragg

    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.

    Jingqi Zhu

    Jingqi Zhu
    Jingqi Zhu

    Jingqi Zhu is a DMA conducting candidate at the University of Minnesota, where she conducts and assists nearly every orchestral, choral ensemble, and opera. In the community, she guest-conducts the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony Orchestra and assists the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota’s most highly regarded civic orchestra. She received the Music Director Fellowship with Spokane Symphony and was invited to masterclasses taught by Marin Alsop, Johannes Schlaefli, Carl St. Clair, James Ross, and James Lowe. As a pianist, Jingqi performed with Indiana University Chamber Orchestra under Carl St. Clair as the winner of the concerto competition. She holds a double degree in Master of Music at Indiana University Jacobs School of music in choral conducting and piano performance.