Congratulations to Gemma New, now back on her home turf as principal conductor of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra!

New is a familiar face here in New Jersey, thanks to her five-year stint as associate conductor of the New Jersey Symphony. Like her compatriot Edmund Hillary, she has been scaling mountains ever since, as resident conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Hamilton, Ontario.

I saw her lead a concert at Richardson Auditorium here in Princeton in 2019, and her Sibelius 2nd was a knockout – an inspiring performance, with New, an unassuming presence off the podium, astonishingly authoritative, with a clean and confident baton technique.

I interviewed her in advance of the concert for the Trenton Times. Nice to see the article linked among the footnotes on her Wikipedia page. I think I broke the ice by being so well-versed in the music of Douglas Lilburn (New Zealand’s national composer).

Best wishes to Gemma New. Now on to the next peak!

https://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/2016/10/classical_music_njso_performin_1.html

Press release

https://www.primoartists.com/news/new-nzso-appointment

Conducting Lilburn’s “Aotearoa Overture”