BIOGRAPHY
A graceful yet powerful force on the podium, Argentinian-Italian conductor Michelle Di Russo is known for her compelling interpretations, passionate musicality, and championship of contemporary music. Currently serving as Associate Conductor in her third season with North Carolina Symphony, she is a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a recipient of a 2024 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award and mentee of the Taki Alsop Fellowship. Di Russo is a former conducting fellow of Chicago Sinfonietta’s Project Inclusion program and The Dallas Opera Hart Institute, as well as a recipient of the Richard S. Weinert award from Concert Artists Guild.
Her 2023/24 season included guest conducting debuts with Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Knoxville Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Salisbury Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and Arizona Musicfest. She will also act as cover conductor for New York Philharmonic and St. Louis Symphony, and perform regularly with the North Carolina Symphony. Last summer, Di Russo was a conducting Fellow at the Lucerne Festival Academy, where she worked closely with Baldur Brönnimann, premiered pieces from the composer’s workshop program with International Ensemble Modern Academy, and participated in a masterclass with Susanna Mälkki on Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring aired on Medici.tv. The summer of 2024 will take her back to guest conduct the Academy as part of the Roche Young Commissions, in addition to a position as conducting fellow at the Verbier Festival assisting Simon Rattle, Klaus Mäkelä and Lahav Shani.
In previous seasons, Di Russo had guest conducting debuts with Vermont Symphony and Portland Symphony and worked as cover conductor for The National Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and San Diego Symphony. She was a 2022 Joel Revzen fellow at the Napa Valley Festival and has served as Interim Director of Orchestras at Cornell University and Assistant Conductor of Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra. She has been the recipient of the American Austrian Foundation/Faber Young Conductors Fellowship (selected by members of Vienna Philharmonic), a Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation Conducting Scholarship at the Cabrillo Music Festival of Contemporary Music, and was a conducting fellow at the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Italy.
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.
She has participated in masterclasses with conductors Cristian Măcelaru, Emmanuel Villaume, Marin Alsop, Carlo Montanaro, and Guillermo Scarabino. Mentors include Carlos Miguel Prieto, Mei-Ann Chen, Tito Muñoz, Jeffery Meyer and Carlos Vieu.
