The Delaware Symphony Orchestra has a new conductor.
Michelle Di Russo is the orchestra’s music director designate, emerging from a lengthy audition process that included conducting the orchestra earlier this year. J. C. Barker is the orchestra’s CEO.
“All of the candidates were evaluated not only on their musical skills, but also in their connection with the orchestra, their connection with the members of the community, connection with the board," says J. C. Barker, the orchestra’s CEO. "So it's a composite of many different skills that led us to choose Michelle.”
Di Russo comes from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, where she is associate conductor, a position she also held with the North Carolina Symphony. She has guest conducted orchestras across the country and is founder of Girls Who Conduct, an organization working to close the gender gap in the orchestral conducting world.
Di Russo is only the sixth person - and the first woman - to hold the position of music director of the 120 year old orchestra.
“She is 34 years old and brings, of course, a new, fresh, youthful kind of energy to our organization," Barker said. "And that's really evident when you see her at work.”
Di Russo came out on top after a 22 month audition process that culminated in conducting the orchestra in a live performance.
“We received 147 applicants from all over the world. We held interviews with 19 candidates and we brought it down to 9 candidates that we had a second interview with. We then selected the four finalists that we featured during this past season, Michelle being one of them," Barker explained.
Di Russo takes the stage as music director for the first time on October 10. Season tickets go on sale later this month, with single tickets going on sale in August.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
