Dallas Symphony Orchestra Announces 2024 Women in Classical Music Symposium

Held from November 3–6, 2024, this year’s Symposium will feature panels on AI in music and music of indigenous peoples, among other topics

Formed in 2019, Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s (DSO) annual Women in Classical Music Symposium is the first event of its kind to discuss issues specific to women in the field of classical music.

The sixth edition of the Symposium will be held from November 3–6, 2024, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, involving panel discussions and presentations from leading women in the industry, including conductors, composers, performers, educators and administrators. 

Discussions have included facing gender bias and discrimination, to the importance of representation and diversity in classical music. 

The 2024 Symposium will begin with a DSO concert highlighting several distinguished women in classical music, including conductor Anu Tali, who will direct performances of contemporary Estonian composer Alisson Kruusmaa’s Five Arabesques and Amy Beach’s Piano Concerto, starring Bravo! Vail’s artistic director Anne-Marie McDermott as soloist. 

This year’s programming will focus on relevant topics such as: 

• The implementation of AI in music,
• The experiences of women in administrative and artistic leadership positions,
• How industry leaders are programming concerts with the future in mind,
• The exploration of the music of indigenous peoples,
• How the classical music can challenge genre boundaries and promote diversification,
• And discussions specific to women conductors and women in artist management roles.

The panelists will be Katie Backus (Concert Artists Guild), Christina Baker (Young Concert Artists), Katherine Carleton (Orchestra Canada), Michelle di Russo (Fort Worth Symphony), JoAnn Falletta, Katie McGuiness (DSO), Melissa Ngan (American Composers Orchestra), Kim Noltemy, Shira Samuels-Shragg (DSO), Mark Williams (Toronto Symphony), and Susan Zhang (Concert Truck).

Additionally, a central part of the Symposium is presenting the winner of the Award of Excellence, which recognizes a woman in the field who has paved the way for others and is investing in the future of the industry. 

This year’s honoree is the multi-GRAMMY Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, who is music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), where she became the first woman to lead a major American orchestra. She is also music director laureate of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Brevard Music Center, and conductor laureate of the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. 

The Symposium also sees the Award of Excellence recipient select the winner of the event’s Career Advancement Award, which has this year gone to Falletta’s colleague and mentee, Fernanda Lastra. Since 2022 and under Falletta’s mentorship, Lastra has served as assistant conductor of the BPO and serves as a member of its artistic team, music education committee, and Diversity Council.

“I am incredibly proud of the impact that the Women in Classical Music Symposium has had over the past five years,” said DSO’s president and CEO Kim Noltemy in the press release. “The Symposium provides a platform for women in our industry to share their experiences and perspectives, with the goal of continuing to strive for positive change,” Noltemy added. 

“We have put together a fantastic group of panelists and topics for the 2024 Symposium, and we look forward to welcoming everyone to the Meyerson for four days of energizing and inspirational discussion among friends and colleagues.” 

To attend the 2024 Women in Classical Music Symposium, click here.