Artists

• Daniela Candillari

  Conductor

  Conductor Daniela Candillari garners praise for her dynamic and compelling performances at opera houses and concert halls throughout North America and Europe. Entering her second season as both principal conductor at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and principal opera conductor at Music Academy, in the 2022–23 season Candillari conducts the New York Philharmonic and cellist Yo-Yo Ma, American Composers Orchestra and The Choir of Trinity Wall Street at Carnegie Hall, Orchestre Métropolitain Montreal, Symphonic Orchestra of Slovenian National Theater in Maribor, and Toledo Symphony. She also leads the world premiere of Arkhipov by Peter Knell and Stephanie Fleischmann at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, a concert version of Delibes’s Lakmé at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at New Orleans Opera, Puccini’s Tosca at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Arizona Opera, a Gala concert version of Verdi’s Aida at Tulsa Opera, and Puccini’s La bohème at Music Academy.

  This past season Candillari made her Metropolitan Opera debut conducting Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice. She also led a new production of Jeanine Tesori’s Blue with Detroit Opera, and workshopped Tesori’s Grounded with Washington National Opera and The Met. She helmed Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bizet’s Carmen at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the North American premiere of Caroline Shaw, Andrew Yee, and Asma Maroof’s Moby Dick; or The Whale at The Shed with Members of the New York Philharmonic, and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin at Music Academy. She led the made-for-film world premiere of Clint Borzoni’s The Copper Queen with Arizona Opera, released in 2021, plus the 2022 film of Ana Sokolović’s Svadba with Boston Lyric Opera.

  As a composer, Candillari has been commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Musicians from the New York Philharmonic, and New York City Ballet Orchestra, as well as by established instrumentalists from the Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh symphonies.

  Daniela Candillari grew up in Serbia and Slovenia. She holds a doctorate in musicology from the Universität für Musik in Vienna, a master’s in jazz studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in piano performance from the Universität für Musik in Graz. A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, she was awarded a TED Fellowship.

  Learn more about Daniela Candillari

• Yo-Yo Ma

  Cello

  Cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s life and career are testament to his enduring belief in culture’s power to generate trust and understanding. Whether performing new or familiar works from the cello repertoire, collaborating with communities and institutions to explore culture’s role in society, or engaging unexpected musical forms, he strives to foster connections that stimulate the imagination and reinforce our humanity.

  
  Learn more about Yo-Yo Ma