Music Meets Drama

  Get to know The Gena Branscombe Project’s 2026 Conductor scholarship winner, Valentina Paolucci! She is a rising orchestral conductor and violinist currently based in New York City.   A recent graduate from the Juilliard School with a Masters Degree in Orchestral Conducting, she was awarded the Robert Craft-Igor Stravinsky Conducting Award upon graduation. Valentina is currently a Conducting Fellow with The Chelsea Symphony and Music Director of the NYO-USA Alumni Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. (Valentina with her winner's coffee mug) Valentina spent several weeks this summer at the Domaine Forget Académie internationale de musique et de danse in Saint-Irénée, Quebec being inspired with beautiful music making and learning from world renowned conductors Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Kensho Watanabe. The culmination of her weeks of lessons and coachings was the honor of conducting the Orchestre Métropolitain in the final concert.  Completing her weeks in Canada, she quickly lef...

  The Vienna Philharmonic was founded in 1844.   For the first time in their 180 years of male exclusivity, the Vienna Philharmonic has invited a woman to conduct a subscription concert.   180 years of misogyny!   Breaking that 180 year record, Lithuanian born Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla will make her debut with the orchestra on May 3, 2025.     She is the former music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony, has conducted at the Bavarian State Opera and the Proms.   She is the first female conductor to sign an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon.     Another hurdle for women conductors was made at the Metropolitan Opera.   Since the 1880s the Metropolitan Opera has had only four women conductors grace their podium including Sarah Caldwell, Simone Young, Jane Glover and Susanna Mälkki. On April 19 th Oksana Lyniv conducted Puccini’s “Turandot,” April 20 th Speranza Scappucci conducted Puccini’s “La Rodine,” April 23 rd saw Ma...