Location: Toronto and across Canada Type: Part-time, July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2029 Salary: $30,000 Submission deadline: February 1, 2026, 11:59 pm Start date: July 2026
Apply now to be part of our 2026 cohort
Women in Musical Leadership is an advanced three-year conducting program structured as a series of placements with Tapestry Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and over twenty partner organizations across Canada. The program’s goal is to allow developing conductors to focus solely on conducting so that after three years, they emerge ready for regular professional engagements.
Conductors are given practical opportunities to assist, observe, conduct, build professional experience, and expand their networks with a range of organizations in symphonic, chamber, operatic, and contemporary repertoire. Recent opportunities for WML conductors include working with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno in our annual masterclass, assisting mainstage productions with Vancouver Opera (Carmen), Manitoba Opera (L’Elisir d’Amore), and Pacific Opera Victoria (La Clemenza di Tito), and conducting full orchestral programs with the Calgary Philharmonic, Kamloops Symphony, and more.
Conductors are provided mentorship through a Conducting Advisory Council (comprising leading conductors in the field), and work regularly with Key Mentors JoAnn Falletta, Sarah Ioannides, Tania Miller, Rosemary Thomson, and Karen Kamensek, who help guide conductors through their time in the program. This advanced program is for applicants who want to develop their careers as conductors and music directors with salaried, practical experience. Visit our Women in Musical Leadership pagefor more information about our partners, key mentors, conducting advisors, and the inaugural cohort.
How to apply
Women in Musical Leadership is for self-identified female and non-binary conductors who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Generally, applicants will have completed advanced studies (or equivalent experience) in a primary instrument, have some previous conducting training and experience, and demonstrate readiness for professional opportunities and development. Applicants should be ready to take advantage of all types of conducting placements, including orchestral, opera, and new music – expertise in all areas is not necessary, but readiness to learn on the job is required.
Please apply via our application form. Potential applicants are required to supply:
Curriculum Vitae
Written artist statement
Repertoire list
Videos of the applicant conducting, and at their primary instrument
Professional references
There will be two rounds of evaluation – firstly by a jury committee, where candidates will be evaluated based on materials provided, on level of musicality, technical skill, overall presentation, and collaborative and leadership potential.
The jury comprises members of the Women in Musical Leadership Conductor Advisory Committee, including representatives from Tapestry Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and other partner organizations.
Candidates selected to move on to the second round will have a 30-minute interview conducted by phone or Zoom.
Please read our FAQs before submitting your application. If you’re still unsure of your eligibility or have other questions regarding the WML program and application process, contact Program Manager, Camille Rogers at crogers@tapestryopera.com.
Apply now to be part of our 2023 Women in Musical Leadership cohort
Location: Toronto and across Canada Type: Part-time, July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2028 Salary: $30,000 Application deadline: Monday, February 10, 2025, 11:59 pm Start date: July 2025
Apply now to be part of our 2025 cohort
Women in Musical Leadership is an advanced three-year conducting program structured as a series of placements with Tapestry Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and over twenty partner organizations across Canada. The program’s goal is to allow developing conductors to focus solely on conducting so that after three years, they emerge ready for regular professional engagements.
Conductors are given practical opportunities to assist, observe, conduct, build professional experience, and expand their networks with a range of organizations in symphonic, chamber, operatic, and contemporary repertoire. Recent opportunities for WML conductors include working with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Gustavo Gimeno in our annual masterclass, assisting mainstage productions with Vancouver Opera (Carmen), Manitoba Opera (L’Elisir d’Amore), and Pacific Opera Victoria (La Clemenza di Tito), and conducting full orchestral programs with the Calgary Philharmonic, Kamloops Symphony, and more.
Conductors are provided mentorship through a Conducting Advisory Council (comprising leading conductors in the field), and work regularly with Key Mentors JoAnn Falletta, Sarah Ioannides, Tania Miller, Rosemary Thomson, and Karen Kamensek, who help guide conductors through their time in the program.
This advanced program is for applicants who want to develop their careers as conductors and music directors with salaried, practical experience. Visit our Women in Musical Leadership page for more information about our partners, key mentors, conducting advisors, and the inaugural cohort.
How to apply
Women in Musical Leadership is for self-identified female and non-binary conductors who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Generally, applicants will have completed advanced studies (or equivalent experience) in a primary instrument, have some previous conducting experience, and demonstrate readiness for professional opportunities and training. Applicants should be ready to take advantage of all types of conducting placements, including orchestral, opera, and new music – expertise is unnecessary. Still, readiness to learn on the job is required.
Please apply via our application form. Potential applicants are required to supply:
Curriculum Vitae
Written artist statement
Repertoire list
Videos of the applicant conducting and at their primary instrument
Professional references
There will be two rounds of evaluation. The first is by a jury committee, where candidates will be evaluated based on materials provided, level of musicality, technical skill, overall presentation, and collaborative and leadership potential.
The jury comprises Women in Musical Leadership Conductor Advisory Committee members, including representatives from Tapestry Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and other partner organizations.
Candidates selected to move on to the second round will have a 30-minute interview conducted by phone or Zoom. Please read our FAQs before submitting your application. If you’re still unsure of your eligibility or have other questions regarding the WML program and application process, contact Program Manager Camille Rogers at crogers@tapestryopera.com.
Monica Chen and Kelly Lin announced as Year 3 cohort in Tapestry Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra initiative, now the world’s largest program for women and non-binary conductors.
Monica Chen and Kelly Lin, accomplished Canadian conductors with substantial achievements, will join Jennifer Tung, Juliane Gallant, Naomi Woo, and Maria Fuller in the landmark three-year program. Each conductor will benefit from learning placements and conducting opportunities with orchestras, opera companies and festivals across Canada, including mentorship and training with industry-leading conductors nationwide.
Women in Musical Leadership is led by Canada’s trailblazing producer of contemporary opera, Tapestry Opera, in partnership with Lead Partner Pacific Opera Victoriaand Lead Orchestral Partner Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The three Lead Partners work in collaboration with 23 opera, music, and performing arts organizations across Canada. This pilot program was first announced in October 2020 and launched in 2021 with the support of the Azrieli Foundation.
The Women in Musical Leadership program was created to expand the musical leadership talent pool by championing and fostering female and non-binary Canadian conductors, cultivating the next generation of conductors at the highest levels of musical leadership, and addressing a historic gender imbalance in classical music. By activating a national coalition, the program provides the conductors with a network of experience, relationships, and mentors to develop their careers.
In May 2022, Canadian women occupied less than 3% of titled conductor positions in major Canadian orchestras. In Canadian orchestras with budgets over 5 million*, there are 37 titled roles for conductors, of which only three are occupied by female conductors (8.1%). Of those three conductors, only one is Canadian (2.7%).*
Chen and Lin will begin their three-year participation in the program in the summer of 2023. They join current participants Jennifer Tung, Juliane Gallant, Naomi Woo and Maria Fuller, whose experience in the program so far includes mentoring with renowned conductors Rosemary Thomson, JoAnne Falletta, Tania Miller and Karen Kamensek; and masterclasses with Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Gustavo Gimeno andWinnipeg Symphony’s Daniel Raiskin;
Tapestry Opera’s Artistic Director Michael Hidetoshi Mori, and Tapestry Opera’s Executive Director Jaime Martino, said in a joint statement:
“We are thrilled to welcome Monica Chen and Kelly Lin to the now six dynamic and talented conductors who represent the future of classical music in Canada. This program is an important way to make our great and geographically large country into a community who can collectively train and give vital experience to new leaders for music in Canada. We are grateful to all participating companies who are supporting these conductors’ journeys.
When we began designing this program, hosting six conductors was a pipe dream. In the beginning, we didn’t know if other organizations would want to become partners; we didn’t know if conductors would find the program or find it helpful; we didn’t know if we would achieve our goal of providing a deeply meaningful and enriching experience for young conductors that would truly help advance their careers in Canada. Looking back on the last two years and getting to add Monica and Kelly, such consummate musicians with so much to offer the sector, we can see the dream becoming a reality.”
A native of Vancouver, Monica Chen is one of the conducting fellows at the Orchestre Métropolitain, assisting Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2021. She will be the Assistant Conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra for the 2023-2024 season and one of three finalists at Domaine Forget chosen to perform in concert with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec two years in a row. Recent conducting engagements include working with Opera Kelowna, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and the Orchestre Métropolitain. She has participated in festivals including the Eastman School of Music, Domaine Forget International Summer Academy, the UBC Chamber Music Festival, and the University of Oregon Conducting Institute, working closely with maestros Jonathan Girard, Neil Varon, Thomas Rösner, and Bramwell Tovey. She holds two Masters, one in Orchestral Conducting from UBC, studying with Dr. Jonathan Girard and the other in violin performance from Indiana University, studying with Mimi Zweig.
Kelly Lin is a Chinese-Canadian conductor who has gained recognition for her magnetic, captivating, and inspiring interpretations of a diverse range of musical genres, from classical to contemporary. As the founder and Artistic Director of Ensemble Lagom, her performances have been praised for their advocacy of under-represented voices. Kelly earned her master’s degree in orchestral conducting from McGill University, where she was the recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation – Christa and Franz-Paul Decker Fellowship in Conducting. She has studied under renowned mentors such as Alexis Hauser and Guillaume Bourgogne. Kelly’s reputation has led her to work with professional orchestras and ensembles across Canada and internationally. She has performed in major music festivals such as Toronto Summer Music, Ottawa Chamberfest, and 21 Stops Music Festival. Kelly’s recent conducting engagements include concerts with Ensemble Obiora, Ensemble Lagom, Hatch Ensemble, McGill Symphony Orchestra, and McGill Contemporary Music Ensemble.
The Women in Musical Leadership’s current partners include Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Continuum Contemporary Music, Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, Kamloops Symphony, Kingston Symphony, Manitoba Opera, Opera McGill, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, New Music Concerts, Okanagan Symphony Orchestra, Opera Kelowna, Pacific Opera Victoria, Regina Symphony, Shaw Festival, Symphony Nova Scotia, Toronto Summer Music, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, Victoria Symphony, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
“We thank our partners for their enthusiasm and dedication to our joint goal of changing the face of musical leadership in Canada and for their support as we celebrate the achievements of these accomplished women as they take the next step in their careers,” concluded Mori and Martino.
*As deemed by Orchestras Canada. Titled roles include Music Director, Assistant Conductor, Principal Guest Conductor, Resident Conductor, Artist Partner (OM), Artist-In-Residence and Community Ambassador, Principal Pops Conductor, Principal Education Conductor & Community Ambassador.
More free opera performances for vulnerable Toronto communities
Tapestry Opera announces a third year of Box Concerts! This summer they’re delivering over 60 free outdoor performances to staff and residents of Toronto long-term care homes, and over 30 to Toronto residential neighbourhoods.
First delivered in 2020 in response to the pandemic, the program’s travelling trailer unpacks to reveal a charming stage. It has visited over 125 residences and performed to thousands of Torontonians in a bid to raise spirits and spark joy. All of Tapestry Opera’s community performances for care homes have been free of charge.
This year, Tapestry is announcing a roster of some of the most talented Ontario-based opera artists* alternating as soloists. They include: baritone Korin Thomas-Smith (S.O.S. Sketch Opera Singers, Tapestry Opera), soprano Natalya Gennadi (Oksana G, Tapestry Opera), soprano Meher Pavri (The Overcoat, Tapestry Opera & Canadian Stage, Sāvitri, Against the Grain Theatre), soprano Midori Marsh (Rocking Horse Winner, Tapestry Opera, The Magic Flute, Canadian Opera Company), and soprano Charlotte Siegel (The Magic Flute, Canadian Opera Company).
Tapestry Opera’s Artistic and General Director Michael Hidetoshi Mori said: “Box Concerts have brought magic to Toronto communities these last couple of years. We’re so delighted to be back on the road for the third year running. For 2022, we’re working with a roster of extremely talented Canadian singers who are passionate about opera’s power to delight and surprise audiences. Last year it was a thrill to watch audiences of all ages applauding together. We can’t wait to share more uplifting music with communities around the city – it’s going to be a special summer!”
Box Concerts runs from July to September 2022. Private performances are also available, bookable on weekends.
Canadian conductors Maria Fuller and Naomi Woo have been announced as the Year 2 cohort of the Women in Musical Leadership conducting program.
Fuller and Woo, both accomplished Canadian artists with substantial achievements, will participate in the three-year program, benefiting from placements with orchestras, opera companies and festivals across Canada and supported by mentorship and training with industry-leading conductors across the country.
Women in Musical Leadership is led by Canada’s trailblazing producer of contemporary opera, Tapestry Opera, in partnership with Lead Partner Pacific Opera Victoria, and Lead Orchestral Partner Toronto Symphony Orchestra. The three lead partners are working in collaboration with opera, music, and performing arts organizations across Canada. The program was first announced in October 2020, and launched in 2021.
The Women in Musical Leadership program was created to expand the musical leadership talent pool by championing and fostering female and non-binary Canadian musical talent. The shared goal is to change an historic gender imbalance in classical music leadership, where most positions are held by men. In activating a national coalition, the program provides the conductors with three-full years of opportunities to focus only on conducting.
Research conducted by Tapestry Opera in May 2022 found that less than 3% of titled conductor positions in major Canadian orchestras are currently occupied by Canadian women. In Canadian orchestras with budgets over 5 million Canadian dollars* there are 37 titled roles for conductors. Out of those 37 positions, only three are occupied by female conductors (8.1%). Of those three conductors, only one is Canadian (2.7%).
Fuller and Woo will begin their three-year participation in the program from summer 2022. They join current participants, Jennifer Tung and Juliane Gallant, whose experience in the program so far includes mentoring with renowned conductors Rosemary Thomson, JoAnne Falletta, and Karen Kamensek; masterclasses with Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Gustavo Gimeno; and conducting opportunities with Pacific Opera Victoria, Vancouver Opera, New Music Concerts, and Opera Kelowna.
Tapestry Opera’s Artistic Director Michael Hidetoshi Mori, and Tapestry Opera’s Interim Executive Director Stephanie Applin, said in a joint statement:
“We’re delighted to welcome Maria Fuller and Naomi Woo to the Women in Musical Leadership program, two leaders who emerged at the top of a highly competitive second year. Both women are conductors with substantial talents. This program will match their experience, skills, and ambitions with the opportunities, connections and mentorship required to accelerate their individual growth.”
Saskatchewan-born conductor Maria Fuller is a rising star on the international music scene, praised for her “fiery and dynamic” performances (The Walleye Magazine) and “subtle control, careful focus and thorough professionalism…” (Chronical Journal of Thunder Bay). Sought after as a conductor, pianist, vocal coach, trumpeter, composer and arranger, Maria brings an unparalleled energy and infectious joy to her craft on and off the podium. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano from McGill University, a Masters of Music in Piano, Artist Diploma in Operatic Coaching, and a Masters of Music in Orchestral Conducting from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Maria was the 2019 David Effron Conducting Fellow at the renowned Chautauqua Institute, and competed in the inaugural La Maestra International Conducting Competition in Paris in 2020.
Naomi Woo, named by CBC in 2019 as a “Top 30 Classical Musicians under 30”, is the Assistant Conductor of Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the first-ever Music Director of Sistema Winnipeg. Born in Newfoundland and raised in North Vancouver, Naomi conducts across Canada and is noted for her work as a socially-engaged artist and educator, with appearances at the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, Regina Symphony, and the Saskatoon Symphony. An advocate for opera and new music, Naomi will lead the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone (re:Naissance Opera) and the world premiere of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s The Night Falls (BalletCollective, American Opera Projects). She holds degrees from Yale, Université de Montréal, and Cambridge.
New partner organizations announced for Women in Musical Leadership for Year 2 include: the Shaw Festival; Victoria Symphony; Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra; Manitoba Opera; Regina Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Nova Scotia.
The Women in Musical Leadership current partners include: Vancouver Opera; Opera McGill; Opera Kelowna; Manitoba Opera; Continuum Contemporary Music; Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra; New Music Concerts; Toronto Summer Music; Association for Opera in Canada; and Kingston Symphony.
“We thank our partners for their enthusiasm and dedication to our joint goal of changing the face of musical leadership in Canada, and for their support as we celebrate the achievements of these accomplished women as they take the next step in their careers” concluded Michael Mori and Stephanie Applin.
*As deemed by Orchestras Canada. Titled roles including Music Director, Assistant Conductor, Principal Guest Conductor, Resident Conductor, Artist Partner (OM), Artist-In-Residence and Community Ambassador, Principal Pops Conductor, Principal Education Conductor & Community Ambassador.
R.U.R. A Torrent of Light, an operatic experience bursting with light, sound, dance and drama, is premiering in Toronto this May with a stellar cast and creative team, tackling questions of humanity’s convergence with technology.
The show marks a landmark collaboration between Toronto’s trailblazing indie opera company Tapestry Opera and Canada’s largest and oldest university for art and design, OCAD University, expanding the boundaries of the opera genre to create a thrilling musical and theatrical experience for Toronto’s art and culture-lovers.
R.U.R. A Torrent of Light is written by Governor General award-winning TV, film and stage writer Nicolas Billon,composed by the world-renowned JUNO-nominated composer and solo-turntablist Nicole Lizée who makes her full-length operatic debut, and directed by Tapestry’s Dora Award-winning Artistic and General Director Michael Hidetoshi Mori.
The opera is inspired by Czech playwright Karel Čapek’s 1920’s science-fiction play Rossum’s Universal Robots, which first introduced the word and concept of ‘robot’ to the world. Tapestry’s world premiere production blends dance, video projection, a chamber orchestra of over 100 instruments, and unique costumes and wearable technology created with OCAD University’s Social Body Lab, to create an immersive and unforgettable operatic science-fiction experience, with the action taking place in a near-future fictional software company.
Hungarian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Krisztina Szabó (S.O.S. Sketch Opera Singers, Tapestry Opera;Estro Poetico-harmonico III, Azrieli Music Prizes Gala broadcast on Medici.tv) stars as Helena, a Steve Wozniak-level coder and designer. Newfoundland baritone Peter Barrett (Don Pasquale, Metropolitan Opera; Faust, Vancouver Opera)stars as Helena’s husband and business partner Dom.
Canadian countertenor Scott Belluz (The Shadow, Tapestry Opera; Opéra Féerie, Chants Libres)plays [Alex], Helena and Dom’s prototype human-form personal-assistance robot. Canadian soprano Danielle Buonaiuto, Canadian-American baritone Micah Schroeder, and Canadian mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington also join the cast as human-form AI enabled robots. Sopranos Maeve Palmer and Anne-Marie Ramos, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Routhier, and dance artists Sofi Gudiño, Katherine Semchuk, Emily Spearing and Brayden Jamil Cairns join the company as the robot chorus.
Dora-nominated music director and conductor Gregory Oh (Rocking Horse Winner Cast Recording, Tapestry Opera) joins the creative team as Music Director, alongside award-winning choreographer Jaime Martino (choreographer with Momentum Dance Toronto). American Cameron Anderson (West Side Story, Vancouver Opera) joins the team as the Set Designer, and award-winning Joanna Yu (How To Fail As A Popstar, Canadian Stage) joins as Costume Designer. Siminovitch Prize finalist and multi-Dora Award-winning Michelle Ramsay (Shanawdithit, Rocking Horse Winner, Tapestry Opera) is the Lighting Designer, Dora Award-winning Debashis Sinha (her body as words, Peggy Baker Dance Projects) is the Sound Designer, and Cameron Davis (Shanawdithit, Tapestry Opera, Secret Life of a Mother, Theatre Centre) is the Projection Designer.
Danielle Buonaiuto, Dr Adam Tindale and Michael Hidetoshi Mori experimenting with prototypes in rehearsal. Photo by Martin Iskander.
Rodney Diverlus joins the team as Associate Choreographer, with Julia Cosentino as Assistant Choreographer. Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership conductor Juliane Gallant joins the team as Assistant Conductor.
Tapestry has been working closely with OCAD University’s Social Body Lab, whose mandate is to question the relationship between humans and technology, throughout the development of R.U.R. A Torrent of Light. Prototypes, including wearable speakers and LED collars, have been developed by Director of the Lab and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts & Sciences Kate Hartman, with Digital Futures Associate Professors Nick Puckett and Dr. Adam Tindale, which will help contribute to a cohesive design that blurs the lines between what is tangibly real and what is artificial.
R.U.R. A Torrent of Light makes its world premiere May 24 to June 5 in OCAD University’s Great Hall. Tickets are on sale now.
Development of R.U.R. A Torrent of Light was generously supported by the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund.
Location: Toronto and across Canada Type: Full-time, July 2022 – June 2025 Salary: $35,000 Women in Musical Leadership application deadline: February 4 2022, 11:59pm Start date: July 2022
Apply now to be part of our 2022 Women in Musical Leadership cohort
Women in Musical Leadership is an advanced three-year conducting program structured as a series of placements with Tapestry Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and partner organizations across Canada. The program’s goal is to give developing conductors the opportunity to focus solely on conducting. After three years, they emerge ready for regular professional engagements.
Conductors are given practical opportunities to assist, observe, conduct, build professional experience and expand their networks with a range of organizations in symphonic, chamber, operatic, and contemporary repertoire. Recent opportunities for WML conductors include working with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the program’s lead orchestral partner, assistant conducting world premieres with Tapestry Opera (Gould’s Wall, R.U.R. A Torrent of Light), and assisting main stage productions with Vancouver Opera (Orfeo ed Eurydice) and Pacific Opera Victoria (Carmen).
Conductors are provided mentorship through a Conducting Advisory Council (comprising leading conductors in the field), and work regularly with Key Mentors JoAnn Falletta, Rosemary Thomson, and Karen Kamensek, who help guide conductors through their time in the program. This advanced program is for applicants who want to develop their careers as conductors and music directors, with salaried, practical experience. Visit our Women in Musical Leadership page for more information about our partners, key mentors, conducting advisors, and the inaugural cohort.
Women in Musical Leadership is for self-identified female or non-binary conductors who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada. Generally, applicants will have completed advanced studies (or equivalent experience) in a primary instrument, has some previous conducting experience and demonstrates readiness for professional opportunities and training.
Please apply via our application form. Potential applicants are required to supply:
Curriculum Vitae
Two conducting videos
Two videos of conductors at their primary instrument
Written artist statement
Two professional references
There will be two rounds of evaluation. Firstly by a jury committee, where candidates will be evaluated based on materials provided, on level of musicality, technical skill, overall presentation, and collaborative and leadership potential.
The jury comprises members of the Women in Musical Leadership Conductor Advisory Committee, including representatives from Tapestry Opera, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Pacific Opera Victoria.
Candidates selected to move into the second round will have a 30 minute interview conducted by zoom.
Please read our FAQs before submitting your application. If you’re still unsure of your eligibility, or have other questions regarding the WML program and application process, contact Program ManagerJennifer Szeto(jszeto@tapestryopera.com).
Women in Musical Leadership is a project lead by Tapestry Opera, in partnership with Pacific Opera Victoria and Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Now the conductors are taking on a new project as Career Mentors, vital roles in Tapestry Opera’s innovative conducting program Women in Musical Leadership. The pair recount their journeys onto the podium and reflect on the role mentorship played in their careers.
How did you train?
JF: I started my musical training on classical guitar but also studied music theory and ear training in addition to piano as a child and teenager. For my undergraduate studies I entered the Mannes School of Music as a guitar major and transitioned to a dual guitar and conducting major in my second year. I selected Juilliard for my Masters and Doctorate because of its excellent conducting program led by Maestro Jorge Mester. I also had the privilege to study for many years with Maestro Sixten Ehrling.
RT: I had two mentors that gave me the idea that I could conduct, Ann Cooper Gay and her husband, Errol Gay. Ann brought me in to work with the High Park Girls Choir, and at that point I really fell in love with the feeling of the sound coming back to me.
I applied to the special programme in Conducting at the University of Toronto, I had graduated there with my undergrad in piano. I remember sitting late at night and looking at the sign on the bulletin board thinking: I wonder if they would take a woman in the conducting programme? I applied – I didn’t get in the first year, but I did the second.
The rest of my training was much less formal, and much more practical. I spent three summers as the Assistant Conductor, and eventually the Personnel Manager and Librarian, of the Boris Brott Summer Festival in Hamilton Ontario; I conducted four community orchestras at one time; I did workshops; and I put together my own charity shows with friends at the University of Toronto.
Rosemary Thomson as an undergraduate during her first conducting class at the University of Toronto, with professor Doreen Rao
What opportunities existed for you?
JF: My first professional conducting position was with the Denver Chamber Orchestra followed by positions with the Milwaukee Symphony, the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic, the Long Beach Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Ulster Orchestra, the Hawai’i Symphony and the Buffalo Philharmonic.
RT: You have to get in front of players. No textbook is going to take the place of that learning opportunity. At the start of my career I sought out any workshop that I could, because I knew I wasn’t at a place where I was going to be offered professional conducting opportunities. I went after lots of opportunities that I didn’t get, but you have to just keep going after them.
I did the Contemporary Opera programme at the Banff Centre, a time which really changed my life. I met James Rolfe, the Artistic Director of Continuum Contemporary Music at the time. He saw me conduct something in a showcase in Banff, and hired me on the spot to conduct a concert with Continuum back in Toronto. It was my first professional hired gig, and I went on to conduct with that group for 14 years.
It was a time that I thought wow, someone’s paying me to do this thing that I love! From there I won auditions to learn on the job in professional conducting residencies with Bramwell Tovey at the Winnipeg Symphony, Hans Graf at the Calgary Philharmonic and to assist Richard Bradshaw at the Canadian Opera Company. These residencies gave me the chance to put my 10,000 hours in on the podium, but also to learn first hand about being a music director from some giants in our profession.
What is your career highlight?
JF: There are so many events and concerts that were personal and memorable for me, but let me at least mention as highlights my Carnegie Hall concerts with the Virginia Symphony and Buffalo Philharmonic.
RT: My first Beethoven Nine is a definite standout. But actually, I hope my career highlight is still in front of me! I love the big, iconic works like Orff’s Carmina Burana and Verdi’s Requiem that combine the forces of chorus and orchestra. When I got to be the one that’s leading them it was euphoric.
I think because I also grew up singing, I love every opportunity to conduct opera. Being the Music Director for the world premiere of Yvette Nolan and Dean Burry’sShawnadithit for Tapestry Opera and Opera on the Avalon was one of the most deeply gratifying experiences of my career.
Rosemary Thomson rehearsing for Shawnadithit. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
What have you learned over the course of your career?
JF: For me the most important thing about conducting is being keenly aware that the orchestra itself is actually making the music, not the baton! I firmly believe that each performance comes from the collective hearts, brains and spirit of the musicians who are involved, and that because of that, each orchestra’s performance will be unique.
I like to be flexible in allowing the orchestra to play a major role in informing the performance, revealing their own strengths and personality. Does the orchestra’s hall enable them to play refined and varied dynamics? The conductor should allow that to happen! Do the woodwind players revel in their individuality of approaches? So should the conductor! Does the orchestra enjoy rhythmic flexibility and rubato? Does the string section have a unified approach to articulation and bow stroke? Does the brass section exemplify brilliance or warmth in their artistic approach?
To me it is a delight that each orchestra I conduct can sound quite unique in exactly the same repertoire – and what a shame it would be to try to make each orchestra sound exactly alike!
RT: There’s a transition that happens for everybody in leadership at some point in their lives, where you stop feeling like an imposter and you realise that you have the skills. I think that the most important thing that I learned (and I’m still learning it) is to trust that I can do things my way that fit me best.
I’ve been mentored a lot, but the key for me is to take from them what works for me, and to be authentic. That gets clearer and clearer as I have gained maturity and experience. I’m not trying to be somebody that I’m not, instead I’m really going after my authentic connection to the music, to the musicians that I get to perform with, and to our audience.
And that, to me is what’s going to make me the best musical leader that I can be.
What are your favourite kinds of pieces to conduct?
JF: I am fascinated by the seeming limitlessness of the orchestral repertoire. It is as if the body of work is a vast iceberg and we are only playing the tip of it!
I may not have a favorite piece but I may have a favorite period of music to conduct – the start of the 20th century was an extraordinary time where composers were branching out from romantic nationalism in so many unique ways harmonically, rhymically and structurally; all the while expanding the woodwind, brass and percussion sections creating a luminous orchestral palette.
JoAnn Falletta. Photo by Guillermo Mendo
RT: That’s hard, it’s like asking who’s your favourite child!
I guess it’s whatever I’m conducting at the time. But having said that, I do have an affinity for certain composers. I love Britten, Ravel, Debussy. And there’s something about Beethoven’s rhythmic drive that I dig into with great relish. I love thinking about colour and texture in music and the combination of text and music, voice and orchestra, and dramatic, musical storytelling is why I love conducting opera.
If someone didn’t know anything about conducting, what would you want them to know?
The conductor is a catalyst for change […] radiating the reflected glow of the talented players around them.
JoAnn Falletta
JF: Conducting in a sense is the art of persuasion by which musicians come to share a deep connection to the music they are playing – and to convey that passion to the audience. The image of the conductor on the top of a pyramid is exactly the reverse of the real situation. The pyramid is inverted and the conductor supports and empowers every musician, creating a situation where they can feel both independent and protected.
The conductor is a catalyst for change, sparking thought, offering possibilities, and radiating the reflected glow of the talented players around them. The art of performance is deeply embedded in the spiritual, psychological and artistic tradition of transformation.
RT: What I’m striving for when I’m conducting is to move beyond the technical requirements of keeping people together and setting tempos. Instead, to facilitate and inspire the musicians to bring the music off the page and connect directly with the audience so that it’s much more than just an upbeat and a downbeat – it instead becomes a realisation of the composer’s vision through the unique personality and humanity of that group of musicians. If each musician feels supported and encouraged from the podium to play at the top of their game they will shine, and if they shine, so will Beethoven. Plus, it’s fun!
What role did mentorship play in your early career?
JF: For all young artists a mentoring relationship can be essential to their development. Instrumental in my development were my studies with Maestros Mester and Ehrling, and my studies at the Mannes College of Music. I was also privileged to have masterclasses with Leonard Bernstein at the Juilliard School.
RT: I needed others to believe that I had the potential for this before I could truly believe in myself. And I think it does have something to do with the fact that I didn’t see a lot of women on the podium, so I had doubt that it was a career that I would be allowed to pursue.
I felt so strongly that conducting was something I loved that I just kept putting myself out there – even though it was hard. My mentors never made me feel that because I was a woman I shouldn’t be a conductor. Ever, and for that, I am very grateful.
Some conductors have the confidence to get up there right from the get go. I had to grow into that confidence, to dig in and feel like I had earned the right to step on the podium. And that was what mentorship gave me above everything, the gift of believing in myself. Which is why it’s so important to me to become a mentor for others.
The next generation of conductors will be finally the one that stops saying ‘female conductor’ and just says ‘conductor’.
Rosemary Thomson
Why are you participating in the Women in Musical Leadership program?
JF: Women In Musical Leadership is a fantastic program that is supporting and preparing Canadian women for careers in opera and orchestral conducting.
RT: I’m a passionate teacher. My mom was a teacher and I think I got that from her. I love seeing potential in others and helping them see it in themselves. I think that that’s a really important role as a mentor.
I was assisting David Agler on Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Banff Centre and I got to conduct a semi-staged understudy cast with the orchestra. On the night of my performance David was so nervous for me that he actually said to one of my friends that he would rather conduct the Ring Cycle from memory! It wasn’t that he didn’t think I could do it, he just cared so much about me succeeding. It was a huge moment for him as a mentor. I can appreciate that now that I’m mentoring younger conductors, because you want to give them the wings to fly and then get out of the way.
What is the potential of the Women in Musical Leadership program?
JF: The Women in Musical Leadership has the potential to be a key educational source in preparing women for a career in conducting.
RT: Infinite.
I think that the next generation of conductors will be finally the one that stops saying ‘female conductor’ and just says ‘conductor’.
We’re going to change the perception by providing opportunities for multiple women to see themselves in that role. And over time, the programme won’t be necessary anymore. Then we’ll know we’ve succeeded.
Find out more about the Women in Musical Leadership program and the inspiring team involved in the project.
