Stephanie Childress

Strong ideas, lucid communication and focused energy are among the qualities that define Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress.

Her 2024/25 season concluded with debuts with the San Francisco, Houston and San Diego Symphony orchestras, alongside a return to the Cleveland Orchestra. This season began with her debut at New York’s Juilliard School conducting Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony and leading the New York premiere of Anna Clyne’s Palette. She continues her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia with programmes featuring Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto, Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. The last of these marks the beginning of an exploration of Schumann’s symphonic works performed throughout the season with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt and Minnesota Orchestra. She also makes debuts with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Next June she will work with director Tom Morris on a reimagining of Mahler’s First Symphony at St John’s Smith’s Square.

During the past few seasons she has conducted Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Hamburg Staatsoper and Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro for Glyndebourne’s autumn season. She is also an advocate for contemporary opera and has conducted Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves with Detroit Opera and Simon Voseček’s Ogres at Prague State Opera. This season she conducts La traviata at the Finnish National Opera.

She enjoys strong ties to the French cultural scene following her second-prize win at La Maestra conducting competition in 2020. Since then, she has conducted the Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, Paris Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Île de France and Orchestre National de Montpellier and makes her debut with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine this season.

Stephanie Childress has a keen interest in youth music programmes and enjoys a close connection to the Sun Valley Music Festival Institute, where she was previously Associate Conductor. During her own training, she served as Assistant Conductor of the St Louis Symphony under Stéphane Denève from 2021 to 2023 and was one of the first conductors to join l’Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris.

Arweinydd

Syniadau cryf, cyfathrebu clir ac egni canolbwyntiol – dyna rai o’r rhinweddau sy’n diffinio’r arweinydd Ffrengig-Brydeinig Stephanie Childress.

Daeth ei thymor 2024/25 i ben gyda’i hymddangosiadau cyntaf gyda cherddorfeydd Symffoni San Francisco, Houston a San Diego, ynghyd â dychwelyd at Gerddorfa Cleveland. Dechreuodd y tymor hwn gyda’i hymddangosiad cyntaf yn Ysgol Juilliard Efrog Newydd yn arwain Ail Symffoni Rachmaninov a phremière Efrog Newydd o Palette Anna Clyne. Mae hi’n parhau’n Brif Arweinydd Gwadd Cerddorfa Symffoni Barcelona a Cherddorfa Genedlaethol Catalwnia gyda rhaglenni sy’n cynnwys Concerto Philip Glass i’r Ffidil, Symffoni Rhif 1 Sibelius a Symffoni Rhif 2 Schumann. Yr olaf o’r rhain yw’r cyntaf mewn archwiliad o weithiau symffonig Schumann a berfformir trwy gydol y tymor gyda Cherddorfa Symffoni Toronto, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt a Cherddorfa Minnesota. Mae hi’n arwain am y tro cyntaf hefyd gyda Cherddorfa Siambr Zurich a Cherddorfa Symffoni Adelaide. Fis Mehefin nesaf bydd hi’n gweithio gyda’r cyfarwyddwr Tom Morris ar ail-ddychmygu Symffoni Gyntaf Mahler yn St John’s Smith Square.

Yn y tymhorau diwethaf bu’n arwain Die Entführung aus dem Serail yn Staatsoper Hamburg a Don Giovanni a Priodas Figaro yn rhaglen hydref Glyndebourne. Mae hi’n eiriolwr dros opera gyfoes ac mae wedi arwain Breaking the Waves gan Missy Mazzoli gydag Opera Detroit ac Ogres Simon Voseček yn Opera Wladwriaethol Prâg. Y tymor hwn mae’n arwain La traviata yn Opera Cenedlaethol y Ffindir.

Mae ganddi gysylltiadau cryf â’r byd diwylliannol yn Ffrainc ar ôl ennill ail wobr yng nghystadleuaeth arwain La Maestra yn 2020. Ers hynny, bu’n arwain yr Orchestre de Paris, Cerddorfa Mozart Paris, Cerddorfa Siambr Paris, Orchestre National d’Île de France ac Orchestre National de Montpellier ac mae’n gwneud ei hymddangosiad cyntaf gydag Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine y tymor hwn.

Mae gan Stephanie Childress ddiddordeb brwd mewn rhaglenni cerddoriaeth ieuenctid, a chysylltiad agos â Sefydliad Gŵyl Gerdd Sun Valley, lle bu’n Arweinydd Cyswllt. Pan oedd dan hyfforddiant ei hun, gwasanaethodd fel Arweinydd Cynorthwyol i gerddorfa Symffoni St Louis o dan Stéphane Denève rhwng 2021 a 2023 ac roedd yn un o’r arweinwyr cyntaf i ymuno â’r Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris.