Artist
Gemma New
Gemma Elizabeth New (born 27 December 1986) is a New Zealand-born conductor. She is currently principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Born into a musical family, New began violin studies at age 5, and piano lessons at age 8. By age 12, she was playing in a youth orchestra in Wellington. As a teenager, she conducted the Christchurch Youth Orchestra. New attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, in Karori, Wellington, from 1991 to 2004.
New read physics, mathematics, and music at the University of Canterbury, from which she graduated with a degree in music. She later earned a graduate degree in music from Baltimore, Maryland's Peabody Institute.
New founded and directed the Maryland music collective Lunar Ensemble, with which she has premiered 26 compositions. New was assistant conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2016. In the 2014–2015 season, she was a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. For 2014, she was a Kurt Masur conducting fellow.
In May 2015, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) named New as its next music director, the first female conductor ever named to the post. This appointment marked New's first music directorship. Her first performance in the post was in February 2016. In May 2017, the HPO extended New's contract as music director through the 2020–2021 season.
Born into a musical family, New began violin studies at age 5, and piano lessons at age 8. By age 12, she was playing in a youth orchestra in Wellington. As a teenager, she conducted the Christchurch Youth Orchestra. New attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School, in Karori, Wellington, from 1991 to 2004.
New read physics, mathematics, and music at the University of Canterbury, from which she graduated with a degree in music. She later earned a graduate degree in music from Baltimore, Maryland's Peabody Institute.
New founded and directed the Maryland music collective Lunar Ensemble, with which she has premiered 26 compositions. New was assistant conductor of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2016. In the 2014–2015 season, she was a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. For 2014, she was a Kurt Masur conducting fellow.
In May 2015, the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) named New as its next music director, the first female conductor ever named to the post. This appointment marked New's first music directorship. Her first performance in the post was in February 2016. In May 2017, the HPO extended New's contract as music director through the 2020–2021 season.
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