The most recent North Carolina Symphony concerts conducted by Stephanie Childress took place in January of 2023 and featured Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances, Gabriella Smith's Tumblebird Contrails, and pianist Michelle Cann performing R. Schumann's Piano Concerto.
Having been inspired to start conducting due to her love of opera, Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress began the 2023/24 season making her Staatsoper Hamburg debut with Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail and returning to Glyndebourne for Don Giovanni. She will make her conducting debut with Detroit Opera with Missy Mazzoli‘s Breaking the Waves in 2024.
On the orchestral podium, Childress returns to the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and debuts in North America with The Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and National Arts Centre Ottawa. European debuts include the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Dresden Philharmonic.
The 2022/23 season marked the conclusion of her time as Assistant Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, a post she held from September 2020. Following her second-prize win at the 2020 inaugural conducting competition, La Maestra, Childress has conducted French orchestras including Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. In September 2023, following her involvement as one of the first conducting fellows of l’Académie de l’Opéra de Paris, she made her debut at the Palais Garnier for their opening gala concert with l’Orchestre Pasdeloup. In previous seasons she has also appeared with UK orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and the London Mozart Players.
Childress previously undertook an artistic residence at the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States. She is also a member of the Franco-British Young Leaders Program, created by the Franco-British Council to further cooperation across the Channel, and an active supporter of the Tri-borough Music Hub, an award-winning organization for music education.
