Rebellious in nature and a born communicator, Franco-British conductor Stephanie Childress has already established herself firmly on both sides of the Atlantic through her poise, musicianship and forward-thinking approach to the concert-going experience.
Childress’s 2024/25 season concluded with debuts with the San Francisco, Houston and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, alongside a return to The Cleveland Orchestra. Her 2025/26 season began with a jump-in at the Hollywood Bowl in a debut with the LA Philharmonic. She then led the east coast premiere of Anna Clyne’s ‘Palette at The Juilliard School, followed by Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2. She continues her tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) with programmes featuring Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto 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 the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt and Minnesota Orchestra. She will also have debuts with the Zürich Chamber Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales and her Australian debut in April 2026 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. A passionate collaborator, in June 2026 she works with director Tom Morris on a re-imagining of Mahler’s Symphony No.1 at St. John’s Smith’s Square.
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 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.
