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Press Releases
Conductor Gemma New Announces 2024-2025 Season Highlights
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Primo Artists | VP, Public Relations
katy@primoartists.com | 212.837.8466
Conductor Gemma New Announces
2024-2025 Season Highlights
Fourth Season as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor
of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Leading the World Premiere of Lyell Cresswell’s Piano Concerto No. 3, the Czech Premiere of Farrenc’s Overture No. 2, U.K. premieres by Jessie Montgomery and Elena Kats-Chermin, plus Works by Alissa Firsova, Huw Watkins, Thomas Adès, Lera Auerbach, Vivian Fung, Efrain Osher, Andy Akiho, Adam Schoenberg (Recording), Ramin Amin Tafreshi, Kevin Puts, Salina Fisher and Victoria Borisova-Ollas
Returns to the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Barcelona, Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Kristiansand Symfoniorkester, Brussels Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra della Toscana and Musikkollegium Winterthur
Appearances in the U.S. Leading the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and The Juilliard Orchestra
Debuts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales and Münchner Rundfunkorchester
"New’s emphatic, muscular sweeps drew hard-earned tone quality" – The Guardian
“New gave exciting verve and raw energy” – BachTrack
New York, NY (August 15, 2024) – Praised for her “programming prowess” (Vancouver Sun), conductor Gemma New is a rising star conductor with a “unique sensitivity and a heightened attention to detail and texture” (The Washington Post). In 2025, New takes on her fourth season as the Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She also embarks on a global season featuring performances throughout the United States, Canada, the UK and Europe.
Following an exciting summer that included the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s immersive City of Floating Sounds with the BBC Philharmonic and a return to the BBC Proms with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, New commences a busy 2024/25 season with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, performing Lyell Cresswell’s Piano Concerto No. 3 and recording orchestral works by leading New Zealand composer Gillian Whitehead. In Europe, New makes her debut performances with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia and BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales, also making returns to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Barcelona, Malmö Symphony, Orchestra della Toscana and Kristiansand Symfoniorkester. In North America, she returns to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and makes her debuts with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and with The Juilliard Orchestra. Building on her success leading Floyd’s Susannah with the Opera Theater of St. Louis in 2023, New leads the Santa Fe Opera production of Britten's Turn of the Screw in July 2025.
New continues to lead the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra’s 2024 season, performing Copland’s Appalachian Spring and Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony alongside the world premiere of Lyell Cresswell’s Piano Concerto No. 3 on September 19, 2024 at Michael Fowler Center in Wellington; September 20, 2024 at Toitoi Opera House in Hastings; September 21, 2024 at Auckland Town Hall; and September 27, 2024 at Christchurch Town Hall. She returns to the orchestra for concerts on November 22 and 23, 2024, featuring Holst’s The Planets as well as music by Kaija Saariaho and Elgar’s Violin Concerto with violinist Christian Tetzlaff.
In North America, New returns to lead the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on October 11 and 12, 2024 to conduct Sibelius Symphony No. 2, Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances and Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 2, performed by violinist Vadim Gluzman. On October 18 and 19, 2024 at Hilbert Circle Theatre, New leads the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto performed by violinist Geneva Lewis. The program also features Alissa Firsova’s Bride of the Wind and Elgar’s Enigma Variations to celebrate themes of love and friendship.
From April 30 to May 1, 2025, New makes her debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, showcasing Salina Fisher’s Kintsugi and collaborating with Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero, who will perform Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 along with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony.
Having previously served four seasons as St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s Resident Conductor, New returns to lead the orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on March 1 and 2, 2025 at Stifel Theatre, paired with Kevin Puts’ Hymn to the Sun and J. S. Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue. This will be New’s first time working with the St. Louis Symphony Chorus, after a scheduled performance with the chorus was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020.
Increasingly in demand in the United Kingdom, New makes her BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales debut with an October 24, 2024 performance at BBC Hoddinott Hall, featuring two UK premieres – Jessie Montgomery’s Coincident Dances and Elena Kats-Chernin’s Fantasie im Wintergarten – plus a symphony by former Composer-in-Association Huw Watkins. From May 8 to 11, 2025, she leads the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and Violin Concerto No.1 featuring violinist Rosanne Philippens. In her return to London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, she conducts a program including Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Victoria Borisova-Ollas's Open Ground on June 11, 2025 at London's Cadogan Hall. In a second performance on June 12, 2025 at Hull City Hall, New and the orchestra will offer a slightly different program with the addition of Elgar’s Enigma Variations.
In Europe, New’s season engagements begin with a gala concert on October 29, 2024, where she opens the Mendelssohn Festival with a program featuring works by Adès, Mozart and Mendelssohn, spotlighting piano soloist Elena Bashkirova to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.
On November 14, 2024, she leads the Kristiansand Symfoniorkester and cellist Maximilian Hornung in the American Champions program featuring Jessie Montgomery’s work Strum, along with Barber’s Cello Concerto and Copland’s Appalachian Spring.
She returns to the United States on December 14, 2024 for her debut with The Juilliard Orchestra at New York’s Alice Tully Hall, conducting a program pairing Fisher’s Kintsugi with Walton’s Violin Concerto and Holst’s The Planets. The concert will also be live-streamed on the Juilliard website.
New’s next engagement brings her to the Brussels Philharmonic for multiple concerts from January 5 to 11, 2025 as part of the orchestra’s New Year tour featuring percussionist Colin Currie on Andy Akiho's Percussion Concerto.
On January 22 and 23, 2025, she conducts the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in a program comprising Jessie Montgomery’s Strum, Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Rimsky Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol. She leads the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra on February 1-2, 2025 in Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto, performed by violinist Daniel Lozakovich.
For her debut with the Prague Philharmonia on February 16, 2025, New conducts the Czech premiere of Farrenc’s Overture No. 2. Violinist Josef Špacek will perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto, and the program will conclude with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5. She heads to Sweden to lead the Malmö Symphony in Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1 on March 6, 2025, in a program also including Montgomery’s Strum and Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 “Haffner”.
On April 9, 2025, she leads the Münchner Rundfunkorchester in a program of works featuring Ravel’s The Tombeau of Couperin, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto performed by violinist Alexandra Conunova and Stravinsky’s Firebird. She returns to the Orchestra della Toscana on April 17, 2025 for an Easter concert during Holy Week, appearing alongside soprano Eleonora Bellocci and countertenor Filippo Meneccia in a program of works by Pergolesi and Haydn.
The following month, she heads to Switzerland’s Musikkollegium Winterthur on subscription to conduct Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony on May 21 and 22, 2025 alongside two contemporary works: a concerto written by Efraín Oscher for the double bass soloist Edicson Ruiz and the orchestral piece Baroque Melting by Canadian composer Vivian Fung.
On May 30 and 31, 2025, New returns to Orquesta Sinfonica de Barcelona, where she conducts Holst’s The Planets, also collaborating with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes on works by Franck and Haydn.
Gemma New 2024-2025 Season Calendar
September 19, 2024 at 7:30pm
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Michael Fowler Centre | Wellington, NZ
Link: www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/jupiter
September 20, 2024 at 7:30pm
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Toitoi Opera House | Hastings, NZ
Link: www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/jupiter
September 21, 2024 at 7:30pm
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Auckland Town Hall | Auckland, NZ
Link: www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/jupiter
September 27, 2024 at 7:30pm
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Christchurch Town Hall | Christchurch, NZ
Link: www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/jupiter
October 11, 2024 at 11:15am
October 12, 2024 at 7:30pm
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Bradley Symphony Center | Milwaukee, WI
Link: www.mso.org/concerts/gemma-new-conducts-sibelius/
October 18, 2024 at 7:00pm
October 19, 2024 at 5:30pm
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
Hilbert Circle Theatre | Indianapolis, IN
Link: www.indianapolissymphony.org/event/tchaikovskys-violin-concerto/
October 24, 2024 at 7:30pm
BBC National Orchestra & Chorus of Wales
BBC Hoddinott Hall | Cardiff Wales
Link: www.bbc.co.uk/bbcnow/events/performers/44280ca5-ba2c-4dc8-b3f6-970bddb1f3b6
October 29, 2024 at 7:30pm
Mendelssohn Orchestra Academy of the Gewandhausorchester
Mendelssohn Festival | Leipzig, Germany
Link: www.gewandhausorchester.de/en/event/festkonzert-20-jahre-mendelssohn-orchesterakademie-8427/
November 14, 2024 at 7:30pm
Kristiansand Symfoniorkester
Kilden Performing Arts Centre | Kristiansand, Norway
Link: https://kilden.com/forestilling/amerikanske-mestere/
November 22, 2024 at 6:30pm
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Michael Fowler Centre | Wellington, NZ
Link: www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/the-planets
November 23, 2024 at 7:30pm
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Auckland Town Hall | Auckland, NZ
Link: www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/events-tickets/events/the-planets
December 14, 2024 at 7:30pm
The Juilliard Orchestra
New York, NY | Alice Tully Hall
Link: www.juilliard.edu/event/170711/juilliard-orchestra-conducted-gemma-new
January 5, 2025 at 3:00pm
January 7 & 11, 2025 at 8:00pm
January 8, 2025 at 8:15pm
Brussels Philharmonic
Brussels, Belgium
Link: www.brusselsphilharmonic.be/en/concerts/happy-2025-11-01-2025
January 22-23, 2025 at 6:00pm
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Berwaldhallen | Stockholm, Sweden
Link: www.berwaldhallen.se/en/concert/gershwins-rhapsody-in-blue-2/
February 1, 2025 at 8:15pm
February 2, 2025 at 2:15pm
Netherlands Philharmonic
The Royal Concertgebouw | Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Link: www.orkest.nl/en/agenda/460/top-violinist-daniel-lozakovich-performs-shostakovichs-violin-concerto
February 16, 2025 at 7:30pm
Prague Philharmonia
Prague, Czech Republic
Link: www.prgphil.cz/en/koncert-v-rudolfinu-farrenc-brahms-sibelius-gemma-new-josef-spacek
March 1, 2025 at 7:30pm
March 2, 2025 at 3:00pm
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Stifel Theatre | St. Louis, MO
Link: shop.slso.org/8097
March 6, 2025 at 7:00pm
Malmö Symphony
Malmö Live Concert Hall | Malmö, Sweden
Link: www.malmolive.se/program/sjostakovitjs-etta
March 14-15, 2025 at 8:00pm
March 16, 2025 at 2:00pm
Kansas City Symphony
Helzberg Hall, Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts | Kansas City, MO
Link: tickets.kcsymphony.org/22171/22210
April 9, 2025 at 8:00pm
Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Prinzregententheater | Munich, Germany
Link: www.rundfunkorchester.de/konzerte/19402/
April 17, 2025 at 9:00pm
Orchestra della Toscana
Teatro Verdi | Florence, Italy
Link: www.orchestradellatoscana.it/eventi/pasqua-new-firenze-17aprile2025/
April 30 – May 1, 2025 at 8:00pm
National Arts Centre Orchestra
Southam Hall | Ottawa, Canada
Link: www.nac-cna.ca/en/event/36120
May 8-9, 2025 at 7:30pm
May 11, 2025 at 3:00pm
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Glasgow City Halls | Glasgow, UK
Link: www.bbc.co.uk/events/e9wp8g
May 21-22, 2025 at 7:30pm
Musikkollegium Winterthur
Stadthaus | Winterthur, Switzerland
Link: www.musikkollegium.ch/programm-tickets/programm/konzerte-events-detailseite/event/7263
Link: www.musikkollegium.ch/programm-tickets/programm/konzerte-events-detailseite/event/7264
May 30-31, 2025 at 7:00pm
Orquesta Sinfonica de Barcelona
L’Auditori | Barcelona, Spain
Link: www.auditori.cat/en/event-2/concert-obc-holsts-the-planets/
June 11-12, 2025 at 7:30pm
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Cadogan Hall | London, UK
Hull City Hall | Hull, UK
Link: www.rpo.co.uk/whats-on/eventdetail/2379/82|83|104/prokofiev-and-borodin
Link: www.rpo.co.uk/whats-on/eventdetail/2445/82|83|104/elgars-enigma-variations
More About Gemma New
New Zealand-born Gemma New is Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and a highly sought-after guest conductor worldwide. She is the recipient of the prestigious 2021 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award.
New’s past season highlights included her engagement with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra where she led the world premiere performances of Huang Ruo’s City of Floating Sounds, and returned to The BBC Proms for the second year in a row with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at London’s Royal Albert Hall. She led two acclaimed performances after stepping in on short notice with the San Francisco Symphony, where she made her subscription debut, and with the Seattle Symphony two weeks after she appeared with the orchestra in a scheduled subscription program. She made subscription debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony and Orchestre National de France.
New previously served as Music Director of Canada’s Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Principal Guest Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Resident Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Associate Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony. A former Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center, she was awarded Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Awards in 2017, 2019 and 2020, before receiving the 2021 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Learn more at www.gemmanew.com.
*Photo Credit: Roy Cox
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