La Maestra in Paris

Next week, I’ll be returning to Paris for the first time since the pandemic started, to be a Jury member at the La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors.

This unique and important competition, along with its Academy, was launched in 2019 by the Philharmonie de Paris and the Paris Mozart Orchestra to universal acclaim. Running from March 3 – 6, 2022, it’s aimed at gifted professional female conductors of the highest musical and technical calibre, without age limit. It awards generous financial prizes and high-profile professional engagements, as well as training, mentoring and career support for all selected candidates through the La Maestra Academy.

It’s been a minute and a half since I sat in the jury of an international competition, the last one being the 2012 Montreal International Music Competition, which was dedicated to voice. So I‘m really looking forward to actually experiencing a conducting competition, especially since I never did one when I was younger.  The repertoire includes some of my favourite works and Paris is a beautiful city with great food and wine, so I’m expecting the entire experience to be great fun!