About
Stephanie Childress
Principal Guest Conductor of The Barcelona Symphony Orchestra (OBC)
Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress has firmly established herself as a rising star on both
sides of the Atlantic, equally at home in opera and on the concert platform. Through her striking
individuality and bold, cross-disciplinary programming, she offers a forward-thinking vision for the role
of a conductor in the 21st century.
Childress has received much critical acclaim over her interpretations of Mozart’s operas, “revealing
herself to be a Mozartian to her fingertips” (OperaToday 2023) and will make her Opéra de Paris
debut in Spring 2027 conducting a new production of Don Giovanni. Previously, she led productions
of Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Hamburg Staatsoper), Don Giovanni and Le Nozze de Figaro
(Glyndebourne), the latter garnering praise from Fiona Maddocks: “Her focus and poise resulted in a
performance of lithe vitality, detailed and assured.” (The Guardian 2022). An advocate for
contemporary opera, she conducted Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves at Detroit Opera and Simon
Voseček’s Ogres at the Prague State Opera. This season saw 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.
Inspired by the inherently collaborative nature of opera, Childress brings the same spirit to her
symphonic work, and is hugely passionate about cross-disciplinary projects, whether they involve
cinema, theatre, dance, or a DJ set. Reimagining the concert experience lies at the heart of her
artistic mission, and in June 2026 she collaborates with director Tom Morris on an exploration of
Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 at St John’s Smith Square. Her 2025/26 season began with her Los
Angeles Philharmonic debut at the Hollywood Bowl, followed by the East Coast premiere of Anna
Clyne’s Palette and Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony at The Juilliard School. She continues her
tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de
Catalunya (OBC), leading programmes that include Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto and Schumann’s
Second Symphony. The latter launches a Schumann cycle that continues throughout the season with
the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, and Minnesota Orchestra. Further
highlights include debuts with the Zürich Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and
her Australian debut in April 2026 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Her 24/25 season
concluded in 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.
Born in London to a non-musical family, as a teenager she would often skip classes and spend her
afternoons watching stage and orchestra rehearsals at the English National Opera, eventually
dropping out of school to pursue musicology at the University of Cambridge, aged 16. In 2020, she
gained international recognition following her second-prize win at the conducting competition ‘La
Maestra’. She 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. She served as Assistant Conductor of the St Louis Symphony Orchestra under Stéphane
Denève from 2021 to 2023 and was one of the first conductors to join l’Académie de l’Opéra national
de Paris.
Download Press Kit:
