Gemma New
About Gemma
Sought after for her insightful interpretations and dynamic presence, New Zealand-born Gemma New is Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She also holds the titles of Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Hailed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as “a rising star in the musical firmament," New is the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.
2022 marks Gemma New’s inaugural season as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, where she leads the 2022 Winter Festival with Hilary Hahn and Paul Lewis, Mozart Requiem with Voices New Zealand, and contemporary works by New Zealand composers John Psathas, John Rimmer, Tabea Squire and Anthony Ritchie in the orchestra’s 75th anniversary season. The 2022/23 season will mark New’s eighth season as Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and her fourth season as Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2022/23 season, New leads the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and Royal Northern Sinfonia. Increasingly in demand in Europe, she leads the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lyon, Berner Symphonieorchester, Gävle Symphony, Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, Orchestra della Toscana and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg in the final concert of Mozartwoche 2023. New makes her debuts with the Houston Symphony and Melbourne Symphony in Australia and returns to lead the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony and the New World Symphony. In June 2023, she returns to St. Louis to lead Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s production of Susannah.
New regularly appears with top orchestras in North America and Europe, having conducted the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, WDR Sinfonieorchester, BBC Philharmonic, Hallé Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester, Ulster Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Ile de France and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.