A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Tamara Dworetz is a dynamic and electric musical force on the podium. She has conducted the Paris Mozart Orchestra, Boston Pops, Dallas Opera Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony and Mankato Symphony. She has served as an assistant conductor for the Orchestre de Paris (Klaus Mäkelä), Gürzenich Orchestre Cologne (François-Xavier Roth), BBC Concert Orchestra (Bramwell Tovey) and Atlanta Symphony (Nathalie Stutzmann) and won 2nd prize in the Boston Pops' Leonard Bernstein Conducting Competition. Her 2023-24 season included debuts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (HerStory Family Concerts) and the Arkansas Symphony, featuring pianist Conrad Tao. She is thrilled to be the Music Director of the Georgia Philharmonic.
Tamara was recently selected as 1 of 14 candidates from a worldwide pool in the 2022 La Maestra Conducting Competition and Academy for Women Conductors in Paris, France. She was the only US-born conductor selected for the competition, and earned a spot as one of 6 semi-finalists. 'Maestra', a documentary directed by Maggie Contreras, features 5 conductors from the competition, including Tamara, and was premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and highlighted on CBS National News as well as international film festivals.
A devoted music educator, Tamara’s musical beginnings took place in the Atlanta public school system and she is passionate about leading K-12 and pre-professional musicians in enriching musical experiences. Tamara is the newly-appointed Georgia State University Director of Orchestral Studies & Charles Thomas Wurm Distinguished Professor in Instrumental Music. She has served guest conducting residencies at University of Texas Butler School of Music, Boston University School of Music, SUNY Fredonia School of Music, and the Longy Conservatory Orchestra at Bard College and was Music Director of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (NY) Orchestra and Concert Choir. She has guest conducted the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and led all-state orchestras in Texas, Seattle, Colorado & Georgia. She also served as assistant conductor for the National Youth Orchestra (NYO2) in their first international tour. From 2013-16, Tamara was the Director of Orchestras at Lakeside High School, where she increased enrollment by 50%.