Violinist.com: Interview with Esther Yoo
Music and love — these are two things that connect us all and allow us to relate without words. This is the idea at the heart of violinist Esther Yoo's new album, Love Symposium. She talks with Violinist.com.
Esther Yoo, one of the world’s leading violinists, recently released Love Symposium on Deutsche Grammophon. It is her most personal album yet. The centerpiece of the album, which features London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra led by the preeminent conductor Long Yu, is the Serenade after Plato’s Symposium, one of Bernstein’s most lyrical and enduring orchestral works.
Love Symposium is "an exploration of the many different aspects and forms of love," Yoo, the RPO’s first artist-in-residence, told Violinist.com. "It's an invitation for listeners to experience a philosophical and an emotional discovery of love - through music."
From the beginning, music has provided an important source of connection for Yoo. As a painfully shy child, "music was my most comfortable means of communication," she said. "Somehow I wasn't shy about being on stage, playing the violin or the piano for someone." For her, the violin best conveyed the range emotions that she wished to express.
Each of Yoo’s selections for Love Symposium is a portrait of a different kind of love — a reflection of love in all its guises, from the philosophical ideas found in the Symposium to the love of nature, family, friends, significant others, and, most importantly, “the ever-evolving love we learn to give ourselves,” according to Yoo's program note. “We often think of love in music as something purely romantic and idealized, but I wanted to create a sound world where we experience real love—the blissfully transcendent, the powerfully intoxicating, the gut-wrenchingly painful, and everything in between.”
Read the Violinist.com feature here.
Marin Alsop Launches Second Global Social Media Campaign “#PurpleBaton”
Marin Alsop, in partnership with the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, will lead #PurpleBaton, a global social media movement advancing the careers of women conductors in classical music. OperaWire reports.
The world-renowned conductor Marin Alsop, in partnership with the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, will lead #PurpleBaton, a global social media movement advancing the careers of women conductors in classical music.
The campaign takes place during March, National Women’s History Month. Alsop, the first woman to be named music director of a major U.S. orchestra and a defining conductor of our time, will be joined by hundreds of leading classical organizations and artists sharing videos and images with a purple baton. The campaign, gathered under the hashtag #PurpleBaton, advocates for greater representation of women music directors and conductors.
“The #PurpleBaton movement signals to the world support of women conductors on the podium, and women in leadership roles across all disciplines, explains Alsop. “Those who take part promise to be active allies in shaping a future rich with possibility. They’ll show up for exceptional women in leadership across classical music, affirming that there is a vital and engaged global audience for communities, organizations, and presenters committed to building a more equitable field.”
Anyone interested in supporting the campaign may order their own purple baton for $15 on batonz.com/purplebaton, and is encouraged to use the hashtag #PurpleBaton on social media.
Read the full OperaWire feature here.
Learn more about #PurpleBaton at marinalsop.com/projects/purplebaton/ and takialsop.org.
Beijing Music Festival: Opera for All
The Beijing Music Festival is forging a future for opera in China that is bold, international and unafraid to challenge its audience. Lauren Mcquistin reports for Opera Now.
The Beijing Music Festival, an annual music festival held in Beijing, “continues to solidify its position as an international hub for classical music,” reports Lauren Mcquistin for Opera Now. Creating a culture where classical music is for everyone is very much at the forefront of the illustrious festival’s goal.
The latest edition of the Beijing Music Festival, founded in 1998 by conductor Long Yu and today one of the world’s most important cultural events, welcomed the Chinese premieres of Handel’s Rinaldo in a concert performance by the London-based baroque orchestra The English Concert, and of Berg’s Wozzeck, in a fully staged production. The latter was “bold in its nuanced exploration of the universal human feelings of alienation, despair and struggle,” according to Mcquistin.
An important component of the Beijing Music Festival is to nurture future talent. Shuang Zou, the current artistic director, who is helping create a new wave of opera in China, says that she aims to “fit in as many young musicians to appear in our festival as possible,” including bringing Chinese composers from overseas to China to “share their vision, how they see themselves as Chinese composers in the world map.”
Read the full feature here.
Wozzeck at Beijing Music Festival, 2025
“Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote,” by Anthony Davis, Lands
The new opera by the celebrated composer — an allegory about migrants and immigration agents — tackles some of the most polarizing events of our time.
The New York Times reports on the new children’s opera Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote, by Anthony Davis, the composer of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. The new stage work chronicles a journey through deserts, a river, an underground tunnel and a border wall, told with singers dressed up as hopping bunnies, coyotes, snakes, and butterflies.
While Pancho Rabbit might present itself as a children’s opera, it tackles some of the most polarizing events gripping the nation today. It is based on a children’s picture book and written in Spanish and English, recounting the story of a Mexican farmer (Papa Rabbit), who crosses the border into the United States to work on carrot and lettuce fields. His young son, Pancho Rabbit, embarks on a perilous journey to find his father, escorted by a coyote that later tries to eat him.
“I wanted to find a way to capture the imagination of children at the same time having the subtext of what we are dealing with now,” Davis told the Times.
Read the full feature here.
"Promise and possibility:" the Isidore String Quartet
In the February issue of The Strad, the Isidore String Quartet members talk about their sudden propulsion into the professional string quartet scene, a beloved mentor whose loss has inspired their debut album, and their collaboration with the composer Billy Childs.
The New York City-based Isidore String Quartet, formed at the Juilliard School in 2019 and coached by the Juilliard String Quartet, is featured in the February 2026 issue of The Strad.
The members—violinists Adrian Steele and Phoenix Avalon, violist Devin Moore, and cellist Joshua McClendon—follow the Juilliards’ lineage by “approaching the established as if it were brand new, and the new as if it were firmly established.” They tell writer Pauline Harding about their sudden rise into the world of professional string quartet playing after winning the 14th Banff International String Quartet Competition in 2022, a beloved mentor whose loss has inspired their debut album, and their collaboration with the composer Billy Childs.
“I learned more in the first four months of us being a professional quartet than I did in school, about what I wanted to do with my life,” said Moore.
Distinguished by a refined and balanced ensemble sound, anchored by supreme technical proficiency, the quartet is set to release its debut recording, Adorations, in March, featuring music by Haydn, Barber, Mendelssohn, and Florence Price. It is a love letter to chamber music, to the solace it offers, the wonder it awakens, and the countless ways it has shaped, sustained, and inspired the Isidores.
Adorations is dedicated to the life and legacy of Joel Krosnick (1941–2025), the cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet from 1974 to 2016, who was their coach and mentor. He was an “overwhelming grandfather figure,” said McClendon. “Being in the room with him felt like a warm embrace.”
Read the full feature here.
The Cliburn: New York Times
The Cliburn, the classical music nonprofit known for its prestigious international piano competition, announced on Thursday that it would start a new contest for young conductors: the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors.
The Cliburn, the classical music nonprofit known for its prestigious international piano competition, announced on Thursday that it would start a new contest for young conductors.
Hosted in partnership with the Houston Symphony and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the inaugural Cliburn International Competition for Conductors will take place in 2028 in Houston, and award its grand prize winner $50,000. The groundbreaking conductor Marin Alsop will serve as jury chair.
“We ask our artists always to push their own boundaries, but as an organization, we have to also push our boundaries,” Jacques Marquis, the Cliburn’s president and chief executive, said in an interview.
Marquis noted that the Cliburn, which was named after the award-winning American pianist Van Cliburn, has a rich history of launching pianists’ careers. “In this world of classical music,” he added, “conductors are also really important.” Europe, he said, has several conducting competitions.
Read the full New York Times feature here.
The Cliburn Announces New Cliburn International Competition for Conductors
Hosted in partnership with the Houston Symphony and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, the inaugural competition will take place in June 2028 in Houston, Texas with Marin Alsop as Jury Chair
Download photos and logos here
Houston, TX - January 22, 2026
The Cliburn announces the launch of a major new program: the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors, open to 21- to 35-year-old conductors. Taking place in June 2028 in Houston, Texas, in partnership with the Houston Symphony and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, it will be the first major international conducting competition in North America. Marin Alsop, one of the foremost artists of our time and conductor of the 2022 and 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions, will serve as Jury Chair, and the Houston Symphony will perform with all competitors.
An esteemed Artistic Advisory Committee will consult on rounds, repertoire, and ways to support young conductors, and includes Alsop, Miguel Harth-Bedoya (Distinguished Resident Director of Orchestras and Professor of Conducting at the Shepherd School), Kent Nagano, Robert Spano, Juraj Valčuha (Music Director of the Houston Symphony), and Xian Zhang.
“Conductors are among the most pivotal figures in classical music and need opportunities to showcase their artistry. For more than 60 years, the Cliburn has focused on discovering exceptional young artists, launching their careers, and bringing classical music to the widest international audience possible. We are uniquely positioned to leverage our experience and reach to launch the first major conducting competition in North America,” said Jacques Marquis, President and CEO of the Cliburn. “Van Cliburn made his orchestra debut with the Houston Symphony at age 12 and later went on to conduct some of the world’s top orchestras himself, so this is a natural continuation of the Cliburn’s mission. We are delighted to come full circle and share his vision of excellence and love of music with the great city of Houston. The future of the arts and the ability to do great things rests on collaborations, and the Cliburn is thrilled to be working alongside the Houston Symphony and its fantastic musicians, and to partner with the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University to host. Inspired by Van’s legacy and Marin Alsop’s vision, we look forward to welcoming the world’s top young conductors to Texas in 2028.”
Applications for the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors, as well as full schedule, rules, rounds, and requirements, will be available in October 2026 and due in November 2027. A screening jury will review online applications and video submissions, selecting up to 25 applicants for a live audition in early 2028 at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. 12 competitors will then be invited to compete in June 2028. The competition itself will take place at the Shepherd School of Music and Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, home of the Houston Symphony. All Competition Rounds will be open to the public; tickets will go on sale in early 2028.
One grand prize winner will receive a cash award of $50,000, concert opportunities, and bolstered publicity efforts. Finalists will each receive cash awards of $20,000.
The Cliburn builds on its already well-established digital presence—with video views topping 100 million in over 180 countries over the past four years—and will livestream all rounds to a passionate international audience.
“Conducting the Finals of the past two Van Cliburn International Piano Competitions and watching the medalists’ careers blossom has been deeply rewarding. Creating access and new opportunities for the next generations of gifted musicians is one of the most meaningful aspects of my work,” said Marin Alsop. “When I was invited to serve as Jury Chair for a new conducting competition modeled on the Cliburn’s piano competition, it felt like a natural next step in my partnership with this wonderful organization and one that strongly aligns with my mission to remove barriers and expand opportunities for emerging conductors.”
“It is an honor for the Houston Symphony to collaborate on bringing the new Cliburn International Competition for Conductors to Houston,” said Gary Ginstling, Houston Symphony Executive Director and CEO and holder of the Margaret Alkek Williams Chair. “Houston is a global hub with a thriving international community and is the perfect place for the Cliburn to launch this new initiative. The Houston Symphony’s artistry and flexibility make us the ideal symphony orchestra to help identify a new generation of conducting talent.”
“The Shepherd School is thrilled to join our partners in launching this major new conducting competition,” said Matthew Loden, the Lynette S. Autrey Dean of Music at the Shepherd School of Music. “From its earliest days, the Shepherd School has been deeply committed to training young conductors, who study with distinguished faculty such as the late Larry Rachleff and now Miguel Harth-Bedoya. We are eager to host conducting talent from around the world in 2028, and we’re proud to be part of launching this next generation of musical leadership.”
Through this new competition, the Cliburn, the Houston Symphony, the Shepherd School of Music, and Alsop demonstrate dedication to discovering the best young artists and to sharing music with the largest global audience possible. Building on the legacy of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—described by The Guardian as “the instrument’s Olympics”— the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors will be a catalyst for launching significant worldwide careers for its winners.
The Cliburn’s four-year cycle now evolves to:
YEAR ONE–Non-Competition Year
(focus on winners’ career management and other programs)
YEAR TWO–Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition
(for pianists age 13-17; June 2027)
YEAR THREE–Cliburn International Competition for Conductors
(for conductors age 21-35, June 2028)
YEAR FOUR–Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
(for pianists age 18-30, May/June 2029)
The Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, inaugurated in 1999 to highlight the importance of music-making in everyday life, will be retired. The first event of its kind in the United States, the program has largely accomplished its mission of growing a thriving community of non-professional pianists.
Cliburn International Competition for Conductors Key Dates:
October 2026: Applications open for the Cliburn International Competition for Conductors; rules, rounds, and requirements are announced
November 2027: Applications due
January 2028: Tickets on sale
Winter 2028: Live screening round, hosted by the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, for up to 25 conductors
April 2028: 12 competitors announced
June 2028: Cliburn International Competition for Conductors takes place, with 12 invited competitors conducting the Houston Symphony
About the Cliburn
The Cliburn advances classical piano music throughout the world. Its international competitions, education programs, and concert series embody an enduring commitment to artistic excellence and the discovery of new artists. The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (eighteenth edition, May/June 2029) is widely considered “the instrument’s Olympics” (The Guardian, June 2025) and “one of the most prestigious contests in classical music” (The New York Times, June 2022). From its origins in 1962 through today, it has remained dedicated to sharing music with the largest international audience possible and to launching the careers of its winners. Known for excellence and innovation in the digital space, the Cliburn is one of the most-watched events in classical music: video views over the past four years have topped 100 million across 200 countries.
The Cliburn is a proven catalyst to significant worldwide touring careers for its winners, with a laureate roster that—in the past 25 years alone—includes Olga Kern, Joyce Yang, Haochen Zhang, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Yeol Eum Son, Vadym Kholodenko, Beatrice Rana, Yekwon Sunwoo, and Yunchan Lim. And to that list, it now adds its 2025 class: Aristo Sham (gold), Vitaly Starikov (silver), and Evren Ozel (bronze). This track record of success brings an elite group of 18- to 30-year-old pianists to Fort Worth every four years to compete for the coveted medals. The total Cliburn prize package is worth an estimated $2 million and includes comprehensive and personalized career management, concert bookings, artistic support, and bolstered publicity efforts.
Over a four-year cycle, the Cliburn contributes to North Texas’ cultural landscape with over 170 classical music performances for 150,000 attendees through competitions, free community concerts, and its signature Cliburn Concerts series. It presents 1,000 Cliburn in the Classroom in-school, interactive music education programs for more than 200,000 area elementary students.
About the Houston Symphony
Under the leadership of Music Director Juraj Valčuha, the Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony continues to inspire and engage diverse audiences in Houston and beyond with exceptional musical performances and enduring community impact. The Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Now in its second century as one of America’s premier orchestras, the Houston Symphony is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas and remains a cultural cornerstone of the region.
With an annual operating budget of $42 million, the Symphony presents over 150 concerts each year, making it one of the largest performing arts organizations in Texas. Its reach extends far beyond the concert hall, delivering more than 600 performances annually at schools, community centers, hospitals, and other venues, engaging over 160,000 people throughout Greater Houston.
The Symphony's innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic—completing its 2020-21 Season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams—earned national recognition and the ASCAP Foundation’s Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award. Its commitment to innovation continues, with its 2024-25 Season reaching audiences in over 45 countries and all 50 states via livestreaming, making it one of the few American orchestras to sustain such global digital engagement.
Renowned for its artistry, the Symphony has a distinguished recording legacy under prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, and Pentatone. Highlights include a Grammy and ECHO Klassik Award-winning live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and recent releases such as Jimmy López Bellido’s Aurora and Ad Astra (2022) and Jennifer Higdon’s Duo Duel (2023).
The Symphony’s educational impact is equally remarkable, with its Harry and Cora Sue Mach Student Concert Series reaching over 50,000 students annually. Its In Harmony after-school program and partnerships with institutions like the Houston Methodist Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Texas Children’s Hospital further demonstrate the Symphony’s commitment to fostering community connections and accessibility to the arts.
With a vision centered on artistic excellence, community engagement, and accessibility, the Houston Symphony remains a cultural leader in Houston and a global ambassador for the transformative power of music.
About the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University
Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music cultivates the mastery of musical performance, combining a conservatory experience with the educational opportunities of a leading research university. Guided by the belief that talent manifests along unique paths, the Shepherd School limits its student body to 285 uniquely gifted young musicians.
Shepherd gives each music major access to world class teachers—all accomplished artists in their own right—dedicated to cultivating talent and professional success. Its faculty is known for their individualized instruction and for equipping musicians with the skills and experience necessary to develop their own esteemed careers.
Shepherd alumni include Pulitzer Prize and Grammy winners. They have debuted at Carnegie Hall, appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera, and hold positions in orchestras and chamber music groups around the country and the globe.
In just fifty years, the Shepherd School of Music has become a leading international music school, making it both one of the youngest and one of the most prestigious university-level programs in the country.
About Marin Alsop
One of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop is the first woman to serve as the head of major orchestras in the United States, South America, Austria, and Great Britain. Winner of the 2025 Golden Baton Award from the League of American Orchestras, Alsop is also the first and only conductor to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.
Alsop serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Chief Conductor of the Ravinia Festival.
Alsop is a 2025-26 Carnegie Hall Perspectives artist, leading concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, The Juilliard Orchestra and Carnegie Hall’s own Ensemble Connect. Additional season highlights include conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra’s season opener concerts as well as concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
To nurture the careers of women conductors, Alsop founded the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship to empower extraordinary women conductors through intensive coaching, mentoring, and financial support. Today, all 36 award winners hold over 30 music director or chief conductor positions.
In 2021, Alsop assumed the title of Music Director Laureate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. During her 14-year tenure as Music Director, she led the orchestra on its first European tour in 13 years, conducted more than two dozen world premieres, and founded the music education program OrchKids.
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Media Contacts:
Caroline Finane / 8VA Music Consultancy
caroline@8vamusicconsultancy.com
+49 152 27073037
Patricia Price / 8VA Music Consultancy
patricia@8vamusicconsultancy.com
+1 509-995-5546
Remembering A Fire’s Devastation, Violinist Offers Balm Of Music
By Paul Bodine - January 9, 2026. (Photos by Elizabeth Asher)
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Like a haunting reversion-to-nature scene, the quiet seaside community of Pacific Palisades appeared surprisingly green and lush Jan. 7 after winter rains. It was eerily quiet, the rare ostinato of construction hammers and whir of power screwdrivers overwhelmed by the vastness of empty lots, like silent gravesites. Exactly one year after a catastrophic fire that claimed 12 lives and destroyed 6,833 homes (the largest fire ever in Los Angeles in terms of structures lost), Pacific Palisades courageously mounted a one-year commemoration concert at the community’s Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church, whose original building was destroyed by wildfire in 1978.
As Thomas Neenan, a member of St. Matthew’s Music Guild Board of Directors, bluntly confirmed, the concert was largely the work of one person — violinist and local resident Anne Akiko Meyers. “Anne has been the driving force behind everything that’s happened today,” he said.
The arson-caused firestorm that destroyed the neighborhood on Jan. 7, 2025, had direct effects on Los Angeles’ musical community. Not only did countless musicians lose homes and instruments, some historically significant, but it also took down local landmarks like Belmont Music Publishers, founded by Arnold Schoenberg’s son, home to thousands of now destroyed Schoenberg scores and parts. Meyers’ home, though damaged, was largely spared.
The violinist’s identification with Pacific Palisades, where she’s lived since 2016, runs deep. She was raised in Los Angeles, where one of her daughters attended the St. Matthews Parish School. Proceeds from the January 7 concert supported four arts organizations, and Meyers serves on the Board of Trustees of The Juilliard School and The Dudamel Foundation.
Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Announces 2026-28 Fellow, Associate Fellow, and Award Recipients
New partnerships launching with Reno Philharmonic, Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Mentees chosen for the 2026 and 2027 TACF Mentorship Program, supported by the Sherman Family Foundation
Click here to download headshots of 2026–28 Fellow, Associate Fellow, and Award Recipients
January 15, 2026
Today, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship (TACF) proudly announces that Taiwanese conductor Chi-Yuan Lin has been chosen as the 2026–28 TACF Fellow. In a competitive cycle with nearly 150 applicants representing 41 nationalities, the TACF also names Michelle Di Russo as Associate Fellow, and Joséphine Korda, Polina Lebedieva, Ziwei Ma, and Molly Turner as Award Recipients. The Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship is a two-year award that includes intensive coaching and mentoring with Marin Alsop and other music industry professionals. The TACF honorarium for Fellows is $30,000 over two years; other awards are distributed on a merit basis. Since 2003, 42 women conductors have been chosen to participate in the program. The TACF Mentoring Program was established in 2022 and has added 50 additional women conductors to the TACF.
“Since launching the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in 2002, I have been impressed and inspired by the talent, dedication, and creativity of the women who apply. Their level of expertise and accomplishment rises exponentially every application cycle.” said Marin Alsop, TACF Founder and one of the foremost conductors of our time. “In the nearly 25 years since its founding, I have watched the TACF blossom into a community of women who support each other professionally as well as personally. It’s especially gratifying to see that, among the 2026–28 cohort, three conductors — including the Fellow and Associate Fellow — are past participants in the TACF Mentoring Program, a testament to the important contribution TACF is making to conductors’ growth in multiple phases of their careers. I’m proud and thrilled to welcome this year’s class of Fellows, Award Recipients, and Mentees to the TACF family.”
Chi-Yuan Lin, the TACF 2026–28 Fellow
Born in Taoyuan, Taiwan, Chi-Yuan Lin is currently serving in the Conductor position with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center Ensemble. This season at Lyric she will work on Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci, Salome, and Madama Butterfly, and will also return for another season as Music Director and Conductor of the Avanti Orchestra in Washington, DC. Previous engagements include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and Peabody Opera Theatre. She received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from National Taiwan Normal University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She was a 2023–24 Mentee in the TACF Mentoring Program.
“It’s an unbelievable honor to be selected as the 2026 Fellow of the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship,” Lin said. “I have long cherished the TACF as a truly special organization. It offers generous, hands-on guidance while creating space, opportunity, and a strong support system as we navigate our future careers. I am especially excited for the opportunity to work with orchestras around the world, to learn through meaningful mentorship with Marin Alsop, and to grow alongside other inspiring female conductors. Music has carried me through difficult moments in life, and as a conductor, I feel deeply fortunate to share passion and joy and to bring people together. As a TACF Fellow, I hope to pass this light on and bring strength and belief wherever I go.”
Clockwise from top left: Polina Lebedieva, Michelle Di Russo, Ziwei Ma, Joséphine Korda, and Molly Turner
Argentinian-Italian conductor Michelle Di Russo is currently Music Director of the Delaware Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony. She was a conducting fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and a two-time recipient of The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. This season’s highlights include guest conducting debuts with Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, and Toledo Ballet. She was a TACF Mentee in 2023–24.
British conductor Joséphine Korda is the top prize winner of the Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival 2025, receiving invitations to conduct in four Swiss-German orchestras in the 2026-27 season. She has conducted orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, The Philharmonia, and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra. Equally at home in the theatre, she conducts at Northern Ballet, Opera Holland Park, and is currently Conductor in Residence at the Academie de l’Opéra de Paris.
Polina Lebedieva is assistant conductor of Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris. In July 2023, she was a semi-finalist (Top 5) in the Mahler Competition in Bamberg, Germany, and in June 2024, she reached the semi-finals of the International Conducting Competition in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She has also worked with the Berner Symphonieorchester, the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra, and L’Orchestre du Pays Basque, among others.
Born and raised in Beijing, China, Ziwei Ma is currently the Conducting Fellow at the New World Symphony. She recently served as Cover Conductor for The Philadelphia Orchestra (under Stéphane Denève) and appeared as Offstage Conductor with members of the orchestra in performances of Richard Strauss’s An Alpine Symphony. Ma also served as a conducting fellow at the Lakes Area Music Festival and has been invited to return in 2026.
Molly Turner served as Conducting Fellow of New World Symphony during the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons, and was also a Dudamel Fellow with Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2024–25. Highlights of the current season include return engagements with the LA Phil, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris, as well as debuts with Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and Opera Grand Rapids. In addition to conducting, Turner is also a composer and plays violin, viola, and piano. She was a TACF Mentee in 2023–24.
New and continuing partnerships with U.S. and international orchestras
This year, the TACF solidifies exciting partnerships with multiple international orchestras that will provide additional opportunities for the TACF network of conductors. These orchestras are: the Reno Phil in Reno, NV; the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra in South Africa; and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) in Katowice, Poland.
The Reno Phil, with support from Charlotte and Dick McConnell, launches the annual McConnell Conducting Fellowship in the 2026–27 season. In partnership with the TACF, the Reno Phil will choose some of its fellows each year from the Taki community; additional details to be announced. “The Reno Phil is proud to partner with the Taki Alsop Fellowship to expand opportunities for emerging conductors,” said Reno Phil Music Director Laura Jackson, the TACF 2004 Fellow. “Marin Alsop’s mentorship and the strength of the Taki community have played a meaningful role in my own journey. It’s deeply important to me to use my work at the Reno Phil to help support and elevate the next generation.”
The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, two leading South African orchestras, will offer conducting residencies for TACF conductors. “The KwaZulu-Natal and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras are proud to meaningfully contribute to the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, which fosters talented women conductors through active mentorship,” said Bongani Tembe, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of both orchestras.
TACF and the NOSPR — where Alsop serves as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor — have enjoyed a fruitful collaboration going back several seasons; the orchestra has hired numerous TACF alumni for guest conducting engagements, and invites two TACF conductors each season to participate in its annual week of masterclasses, led by Alsop.
TACF Mentoring Program, supported by the Sherman Family Foundation
In 2022, the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship launched its Mentoring Program, which provides 10 free mentoring sessions with TACF alumni. Initially funded by AT&T in 2022, the program has since accepted 50 conductors and continues to expand with the generous support of the Sherman Family Foundation.
Through the Mentoring Program, TACF expands its network of women conductors and collects research and data to create a mentoring model for the future. As evidenced by the 2026–28 class of Fellows and Award Recipients, past Mentees can reapply for the Fellowship and are frequently chosen for higher level awards.
The 2026 class of Mentees includes: Sara Aldana, Ying Lam Chu, Jeanne Cousin, Claudia Fuller, Nina Haug, Guro Ansteensen Haugli, Sohye Jung, Michal Oren, Damali Willingham, and Naomi Woo. Their mentorship period runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026.
The 2027 class of Mentees includes: Katarine Araujo, Maria Bazou, Yudania Gómez Heredia, Nadia Kisseleva, Fang-Ju Kuo, Mojca Lavrenčič, Heeseong Lee, Chloé Meyzie, Gabriela Opacka-Boccadoro, and Leanna Mei-Ling Puttick. Their mentorship period runs from January 1 to December 31, 2027.
About the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship
In 2002, Marin Alsop, with the support of Tomio Taki, created the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship in order to mentor, support, and promote women conductors as they advance in their professional careers. Since 2003, 42 women conductors have been chosen to participate in the program. The TACF Mentoring Program was established in 2022 and has added 50 additional women conductors to the TACF. All are working to ensure a more equitable future in classical music through their artistry and advocacy. Among them, 32 Music Director/Chief Conductor titles are held with orchestras around the world.
The selection process for the 2026–28 Fellow and other award recipients included a thorough application, conducting videos, a personal statement video, references, and interviews for the finalists. In addition to Alsop and the TACF staff, other esteemed conductors and industry leaders also assessed the finalists and provided observations. Learn more at takialsop.org.
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Media contact:
Caroline Finane
8VA Music Consultancy
+49 152 2706 3037
caroline@8vamusicconsultancy.com
The Pacific Has No Memory
Everything changed on January 7, 2025
I never imagined we would evacuate our home in the Palisades—a place alive with laughter, music, and the joyful chaos of my husband, our two young daughters, and crazy rescue dog—never to return.
So many dear friends lost everything: cherished family heirlooms, photographs, instruments, and music libraries that had taken a lifetime to build—all vanished in moments. That evening, from our hotel window, I watched the fires rage through the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains and sobbed, completely helpless.
Yet from the ash and destruction, something profoundly beautiful emerged—much like the glowing fairy at the end of Fantasia, rising from Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite.
I commissioned Eric Whitacre to write a new work for violin and orchestra, and as the world changed, so did his composition. Little did I know that The Pacific Has No Memory would be born from these epic tragedies. This music has become salve for the soul—a warm, healing embrace for my broken heart. Tender and profound, it radiates love, hope, and renewal.
I am eternally grateful to Eric Whitacre for creating this musical prayer and to the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra for breathing life into it together. This recording is dedicated to all who were affected by the Los Angeles fires, and to the brave first responders who risked everything to save lives.
- Anne Akiko Meyers