Sought after for her insightful interpretations and dynamic presence, New Zealand-born Gemma New is Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. New is the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Sir George Solti Conducting Award.
In Summer 2021, New leads the New York Philharmonic’s 29th Annual Memorial Day Concert at St. John the Divine in a free performance livestreamed to the public. She makes debuts at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and at the Aspen Music Festival and Grand Teton Music Festival. In Australasia, she debuts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and leads the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s Winter Festival.
New’s 2021/22 season includes subscription appearances with National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Baltimore Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and Kansas City Symphony. New makes debuts with WDR Sinfonieorchester, BBC Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre National d’Ile de France. She will debut with the Los Angeles Opera for the West Coast Premiere of Kevin Puts’s “The Brightness of Light” with soprano Renée Fleming and baritone Rod Gilfry.
2021/22 marks Gemma New’s third season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. She will lead three subscription programs plus a New Year’s Eve concert in Dallas.
New recently completed a four-year position as Resident Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. In her final season, she led the 2019/20 season-opening concerts of the St. Louis Symphony and conducted a concert broadcast live with Chris Thile on the nationally syndicated variety show Live From Here.
A former Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gemma New served previously as Associate Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony and was a 2018 Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center. She holds a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where she studied with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. She graduated with honors from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand with a Bachelor of Music in violin performance.
