Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Principal Guest Conductor Gemma New Begins Her Final Season With the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

New talks about the September concert series featuring Holst’s “The Planets” and her future.

Gemma New Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Sylvia Elzafon

Gemma New begins her fourth and final season as the Principal Guest Conductor at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with a dreamy concert series featuring The Planets by Gustav Holst, running September 15-17 at the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Dallas Arts District.

New made her debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2019. In November 2019, she participated in the orchestra’s first annual Women in Classical Music Symposium, taking part in a panel discussion about issues important to women working in the music industry. 

This year marks a new chapter in the New Zealand-born conductor’s career, having been appointed the Artistic Adviser and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO). The 2022-2023 season is New’s eighth season as Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) in Ontario. She received the 2021 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.

Gemma New Dallas Symphony Orchestra
Sylvia Elzafon
The 2022-2023 season will be New's final season as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Principal Guest Conductor.

The concert opens with What Keeps Me Awake by Angélica Negrón, the orchestra’s Composer-in-Residence. Pianist Olga Kern will perform Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the orchestra. Holst’s The Planets wraps up the performance, with the women of the Dallas Symphony Chorus contributing to the quiet, other-worldly conclusion of the suite.

New talks about the concert series, her time in Dallas and her future.

NBC DFW: What are you most excited about in this upcoming program? In what ways does the Negron, Rachmaninoff and Holst works complement each other?

Gemma New: There is something for everyone in this program! Much of this program is inspired by dreaming and wondrous mysteries. We first encounter the buzzing and atmospheric Negron, inspired by the creative thoughts swirling in the composer's head as she falls asleep. The Rachmaninoff has a perfect mix of snazzy entertainment and romantic song. And the Holst Planets take on popular song and dance, as well as the character of each planet in its sound worlds. 

NBC DFW: Holst’s The Planets is famous. Do you have a favorite planet (musically speaking)?

GN: I honestly love every single planet! Perhaps Jupiter is my favorite. Every idea is so warm, positive and embracing. 

NBC DFW: In your time at the DSO, how do you think you’ve grown or changed as a conductor?

GN: One of the best things about this career path is that we get to constantly question, experiment and grow. Working with the DSO on so much rich and vibrant repertoire such as Debussy’s La Mer, Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet -- and this year we are performing Holst’s The Planets and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring together -- these are experiences that I take on to that next performance of the piece. 

NBC DFW: What have you most loved about your time in Dallas?

GN: I have loved working with the orchestra in such an inspiring space with our enthusiastic audiences. 

NBC DFW: When you arrived at the DSO, you participated in the orchestra’s inaugural Women in Classical Music Symposium. How do you think the industry has changed for women over the last few years?

GN: I think it's becoming a lot more normal to have a woman on the podium. I hope for this to become common moving forward. 

Gemma New was a panelist during the Dallas Symphony Orchestras Women in Classical Music Symposium_photo by Sylvia Elzafon
Sylvia Elzafon
New participated in the orchestra's first annual Women in Classical Music Symposium in 2019.

NBC DFW: After this final season with the DSO, what does the future hold for you?

GN: I have enjoyed working with the DSO so much, and I'm sure we will see each other again in the future. I am enjoying a busy career with my new post at the NZSO, continuing work with the HPO in Canada, and guest conducting frequently in North America and Europe. I hope to be conducting opera much more, and I look forward to working more in this area. 

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