Gemma New
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27 December 1986
Gemma New | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | Gemma Elizabeth New 27 December 1986 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Conductor, composer |
| Instrument(s) | Violin, piano |
| Website | www |
Gemma Elizabeth New ONZM (born 27 December 1986) is a New Zealand-born conductor. She is currently principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Born into a musical family,[1][2] New began violin studies at age 5, and piano lessons at age 8.[3] By age 12, she was playing in a youth orchestra in Wellington.[4][5] As a teenager, she conducted the Christchurch Youth Orchestra. New attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, in Karori, Wellington, from 1991 to 2004.[6]
New read physics, mathematics, and music at the University of Canterbury, from which she graduated with a degree in music.[7] She later earned a graduate degree in music from Baltimore, Maryland's Peabody Institute.[3]
Career
New founded and directed the Maryland music collective Lunar Ensemble, with which she has premiered 26 compositions.[8] New was assistant conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2016.[9][10] In the 2014–2015 season, she was a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.[3] For 2014, she was a Kurt Masur conducting fellow.
In May 2015, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) named New as its next music director, the first female conductor ever named to the post.[3] This appointment marked New's first music directorship. Her first performance in the post was in February 2016.[1] In May 2017, the HPO extended New's contract as music director through the 2020–2021 season.[11] In November 2020, the HPO announced a further extension of New's contract as music director through the 2023–2024 season.[12] New concluded her HPO tenure at the close of the 2023-2024 season.[13]
In June 2016, New was appointed resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) and music director of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.[14] In September 2018, New directed the opening concerts of the SLSO's 2018–2019 season, the first female conductor ever to do so.[15] She stood down from her St. Louis posts at the close of the 2019–2020 season.[16] In October 2018, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of New as its next principal guest conductor, the first female conductor to hold the title, effective with the 2019–2020 season.[17] She served in the post through the 2022–2023 season.[18]
The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) appointed New as its artistic adviser and principal conductor in 2022, the first woman to hold the posts.[19][20] She is scheduled to stand down from both NZSO posts in 2027, and subsequently to take the title of artistic partner with the NZSO.[21]
New is represented by Charlotte Lee at Primo Artists.[22]
