Nadège Foofat is a conductor, violinist, violist, and advocate for innovation in thought, action, music, and culture. In 2018, Nadège was one of six conductors selected for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview for her “experience, talent, leadership potential, and commitment to a career in service to American orchestras” by the League of American Orchestras.

During the 2019-2020 season, Nadège made her debuts with the Lima Symphony Orchestra, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus and Savannah Children’s Choir in the United States, and conducted Symphony New Brunswick (Canada) in the Fall of 2020 in a series of distanced concerts. Other recent performances include appearances with Symphony Nova Scotia, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

A champion of equal representation for women in orchestral programming, Nadège's concerts have included works by Amy Beach, Jennifer Higdon, Mary Howe, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Missy Mazzoli, Leslie Opatril, Florence Price, Joan Tower, and Gwyneth Walker. She is a leading expert of the orchestral works of the early romantic French composer, Louise Farrenc. Nadège is also a member of the Executive Council of the Institute for Composer Diversity.

​As former Assistant Conductor to Kent Nagano at the Hamburg State Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, she assisted in historical productions of Wozzeck, Lulu, Walküre, Madama Butterfly, Zauberflöte, and Stilles Meer, and new productions of Fidelio and Parsifal, as well as for Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, including performances with Hamburg's St. Michaelis Choir, and the International Musikfest Hamburg.

In 2014, Nadège served as Associate Conductor for the Naxos recording of Darius Milhaud's L'Orestie d'Eschyle, which was nominated for a 2015 GRAMMY® Award (Best Opera Recording). From 2009-2014, Nadège was the Founder and Music Director of the Esopus Chamber Orchestra, a twenty-five-member award-winning professional chamber orchestra based in the Hudson Valley, New York.

Nadège enjoys collaborating as a violinist and violist in recital and chamber performances. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, the Banff Centre, and MoMA. She holds a Doctor of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the Université de Montréal, a Diplôme de perfectionnement in contemporary orchestral conducting from the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, (Switzerland) a Master of Music degree from the Yale University School of Music, and Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in viola performance.

Born in Canada, Nadège is also a citizen of the United Kingdom. She proudly became an American Citizen in 2014. She is based out of Virginia, where she resides with her husband, composer Jonathan Newman, and their two children.

Visit www.nadegefoofat.com to learn more.