Diane Wittry
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Diane Wittry is a conductor who is "a visionary musician". She conducts with "passion and strength"; and she "gets to the heart and soul of the music" (quoted from recent reviews of her performances). Her new book about the business of conducting “Beyond the Baton” has been nominated for a 2007 Pulitzer Prize and an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award (Oxford University Press, 2007). See Diane Wittry's webpage. For information on the 2008 "Beyond the Baton" seminar, see the Beyond the Baton Seminar.
Diane Wittry is currently the Music Director and Conductor of both the Allentown Symphony in Pennsylvania, and the Norwalk Symphony in Connecticut, but she is a frequent guest conductor throughout the world with concerts in Japan, Italy, Russia, and Slovakia. Some of the American Orchestras she has worked with include the San Diego Symphony, The Florida Philharmonic, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, The Ojai Music Festival, among others. On April 6, 2008, the Ridgewood Symphony (NJ) announced that Maestra Wittry will become it's new Artistic Director for the 2008-2009 Season - see Breaking News.
Diane Wittry is well-known for her unique programming style that often combines video and still photos with the symphonic experience. She has used this technique with Vaughan Williams’ - Symphony No. 1 “The Sea Symphony,” and Hindemeth’s - Mathis der Maler. She also has used actors in her Shakespeare concerts and a semi-staged version of “Peer Gynt”; and dancers for her shortened version of Tchaikovsky’s ballet, “Swan Lake.”
Diane Wittry has received many honors and awards. Some of these include the American Symphony Orchestra League’s Helen M. Thompson Award for outstanding artistic leadership of a regional orchestra; The “Women of Excellence” Award from Beaumont, Texas; and an “Arts Ovation Award” and the “Woman of Distinction Award” from City of Allentown. She is also only the third American to be named - in recognition of her leadership in the arts and humanities - the recipient of the prestigious Fiorino Doro Award from the city of Vinci, Italy. Diane Wittry has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times and Newsweek, and she currently writes a column for the Norwalk Hour Newspaper in Connecticut.
Ms. Wittry’s conducting teachers and mentors include: Daniel Lewis, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gustav Meier, Jorge Mester, Jorma Panula, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, and Leonid Korchmar. She received her Masters Degree from the University of Southern California, where she studied instrumental conducting. She is also a violinist, a violist, and a composer.
Diane Wittry has been called a role model for women conductors throughout the United States, and recently has started mentoring conductors of all ages. Through her yearly “Beyond the Baton” National Conducting Workshop and Seminar, hosted by the Norwalk Symphony, she gives young conductors the tools to do their jobs better and to become more effective music directors. Because of her commitment to bringing great classical music to people of all ages, she is a leader in the field.
