A graceful yet powerful force on the podium, Argentinian-Italian conductor Michelle Di Russo is known for her compelling interpretations, passionate musicality, and championing of contemporary music. Recently appointed Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony, she will begin her tenure in 24/25 working closely with Robert Spano. Di Russo is a recipient of the 2024 The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award and a conducting fellow at the Verbier Festival. She is a former Dudamel Fellow with LA Philharmonic, mentee of the Taki Alsop Fellowship and a conducting fellow of Chicago Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion program and The Dallas Opera Hart Institute.

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This season’s highlights include guest conducting debuts with Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Toledo Ballet and Fort Worth Symphony. She will also be returning to conduct the Delaware Symphony and cover conduct for the New York Philharmonic as well as performing regularly with the Fort Worth Symphony as part of her position. Di Russo has been selected to lead a premiere of one of the Roche Young Commissions at Lucerne Festival Academy as part of a two-year project where she previously attended as a fellow. This summer, as part of her work as a conducting fellow at the Verbier Festival, she assisted and worked closely with Simon Rattle, Klaus Mäkelä and Lahav Shani.

 

Di Russo has guest conducted LA Phil, San Diego Symphony, Vermont Symphony, Portland Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, and worked as cover conductor for the National Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, LA Phil and NY Phil. She has held positions as Associate Conductor with the North Carolina Symphony assisting Carlos Miguel Prieto, Interim Director of Orchestras at Cornell University, and is conducting fellow alumni of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and a Joel Revzen fellow of the Napa Valley Festival. As a fellow at the Lucerne Festival Academy, she worked with the International Ensemble Modern Academy and was featured on a masterclass with Susanna Mälkki working on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring that is aired on Medici.tv. She has also been the recipient of the American Austrian Foundation/Faber Young Conductors Fellowship (selected by members from the Vienna Philharmonic.

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During the pandemic Di Russo co-created Girls Who Conduct, an organization dedicated to bridge the gap between women and men in the conducting field and encourage younger generations of women and non-binary conductors to overcome any obstacles presented due to their gender.

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Trained as a professional dancer since the age of three, she continued her studies in voice and piano, leading to participations in Argentinian and Disney TV shows. Prior to switching her focus to the podium, she was a cast member of a professional musical theatre company by Cibrian-Mahler while an undergraduate, gaining insight into the ways of a working theatre. This passion for theatre has endured in her work conducting Opera and Musical Theatre.

 

A native of Argentina with Italian roots, Di Russo holds a Doctoral Degree in Orchestral Conducting from Arizona State University and a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Kentucky. She completed her degree in Orchestral Conducting and Music Production of Audiovisual Media from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina, where she was awarded an Ad-Hoc Diploma for the highest grade in Orchestral Conducting.