Stephanie Childress

Strong ideas, lucid communication and intensely focused energy are among the qualities that define Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress. Her musicianship and fresh approach to a broad scope of repertoire have already established her firmly on both sides of the Atlantic.

Childress’ 2024/25 season concluded with debuts with the San Francisco, Houston and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, alongside a return to The Cleveland Orchestra to conduct Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony for the closing concert of the Blossom Festival. Her 2025/26 season begins with her debut at The Juilliard School conducting Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony and leading the New York premiere of Anna Clyne’s Palette. She continues her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) with programmes featuring Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto, Sibelius’ Symphony No.1 and Schumann’s Symphony No.2. The latter marks the beginning of an exploration of the symphonic works of Schumann performed throughout the season with Toronto Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt and Minnesota Orchestra. She will also make debuts with the Zürich Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and her Ausralian debut in April 2026 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. A passionate collaborator, in June 2026 she will work with director Tom Morris on a re-imagining of Mahler’s Symphony No.1 at St. John’s Smith’s Square.

During the past few seasons, performances of Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Hamburg Staatsoper), Don Giovanni and Le Nozze de Figaro (Glyndebourne) marked the development of a fine Mozartian, hailed by The Guardian for the “lithe vitality” (The Guardian, 2022) of her interpretations. An advocate for contemporary opera, she has also conducted Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves with Detroit Opera and Simon Voseček’s Ogres at the Prague State Opera. This season marks her first production of Verdi’s La Traviata at the Finnish National Opera alongside a gala performance with l’Opéra de Paris at the Palais Garnier.

Childress enjoys strong ties to the French cultural scene following her second-prize win at the conducting competition ‘La Maestra’ in 2020. Since then, she has conducted l’Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Orchestre National d’Ile de France, Orchestre National de Montpellier, and will debut with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine in the 2025/26 season. A reflection of her transatlantic presence, Childress previously undertook a residency at the Villa Albertine, a network for arts and ideas spanning France and the United States and is a member of the Franco-British Young Leaders’ Program.

A relentless supporter of youth music programs, Childress enjoys a close connection to the Sun Valley Music Festival Institute, where she was previously Associate Conductor, and is a regular faculty member at the Sarasota Music Festival. During her own training, she served as Assistant Conductor of the St Louis Symphony under Stéphane Denève from 2021 to 2023 and was one of the first conductors to join l’Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris.

HarrisonParrott represents Stephanie Childress for worldwide general management.