Diane Wittry

Conductor

Internationally acclaimed conductor, DIANE WITTRY, maintains a dual career as an esteemed music director and guest conductor throughout the world. Named as one of the “Top 30 Professional Musicians” by Musical America Worldwide and as the “Outstanding Alumnus” of the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, Diane Wittry brings a proven track record regarding her ability to inspire musicians and to build an orchestra artistically and organizationally.

A frequent guest conductor of professional orchestras across the country, Diane Wittry has conducted orchestras in 11 countries throughout Europe and Asia, including China, Poland, Canada, Bosnia, Russia, Slovakia, Japan, Italy, as well as her regularly scheduled concerts with orchestras in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

In the United States, Diane Wittry has led performances by the Symphony Orchestras of Milwaukee, San Diego,  and Santa Barbara, as well as The Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Buffalo Philharmonic, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, among others; while her international engagements include concerts with the Sarajevo Philharmonic in Bosnia, the Zabrze Philharmonic in Poland, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Russia’s Maikop and Sochi symphony orchestras, Slovakia’s State Orchestra-Kosice, Italy’s Sinfonia Dell’Arte di Firenze, Canada’s Niagara Symphony, and Japan’s Osaka Symphony Orchestra. She has also conducted at the music festivals of Ojai (CA), Penn’s Woods (PA), and I-Park (CT).

As the Music Director of the Allentown Symphony, PA , a professional orchestra that performs about 24-28 concerts a year, Diane Wittry has established a reputation for her creative programming and innovative approach to concert formats.  She has been described as “a conductor who specializes in finding creative ways to make the music fresh, accessible, and exciting.” Wittry has been a tireless advocate for the development of extensive educational programs and is very involved with the Allentown Symphony’s El Sistema Program for under-served youth.

Other orchestras that Diane Wittry has been the Music Director and Conductor of include the Garden State Philharmonic, NJ, a professional orchestra comprised of New York and New Jersey based musicians that performed regularly at the New Jersey Shore and throughout the State. The GSP also supported a community chorus, a youth chorus, and a three-tier Youth Orchestra program; the Norwalk Symphony (CT), the Ridgewood Symphony (NJ), the Southern California Sinfonia (CA), the Lamar Chamber Orchestra, and the Symphony of Southeast Texas (TX), where her work garnered the League of American Orchestra’s Helen M Thompson Award.

As a conducting teacher, Diane Wittry, has been a guest lecturer at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University Steinhardt School of Music, as well as other Universities and Colleges. She has taught graduate level orchestral conducting at Rutgers University (NJ) and is sought after as a clinician and adjudicator.  

Wittry taught national and international conducting courses and workshops through the International Conductors Institute, the Czech Republic International Conducting Workshop, the South Carolina Conductor’s Institute, the Monteux Conducting School and Festival, the New York Conducting Institute, the Pacific Northwest Conducting Institute, the Texas Conductor’s Workshop, and the Beyond the Baton Conducting Seminars and Workshops. She has served as a National Conducting Mentor for regional music directors in their first or second year through the League of American Orchestras, as well as being a frequent faculty member for the League’s National Leadership Academy. Wittry is currently co-chair of the Conductor Constituency Group through the League of American Orchestras nationally.  She is also a part of the National Conducting Mentoring Committee through the Conductors Guild and a guest speaker at national conferences.

An award winning author and scholar, her book, “Beyond the Baton“, (Oxford University Press) (www.BeyondtheBaton.com) was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has become a standard, both nationally and internationally, in the field. Her most recent book “Baton Basics – Communicating Music Through Gestures” (Oxford University Press) is being used by conducting classes across the country.

Over the years, Diane Wittry has received many honors and awards, including the American Symphony Orchestra League’s national Helen M. Thompson Award for outstanding artistic leadership of a regional orchestra. She has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times and Newsweek. Ms. Wittry received an Outstanding Achievement Award, Allentown, PA, the Women of Excellence Award in Beaumont, Texas, the Arts Ovation Award in Music and the Woman of Distinction Award from Allentown, PA., and she is 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.

Recently, Diane Wittry has also established a reputation as a composer. Her orchestral piece, “Mist” was premiered by the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and is available for streaming at Amazon.com in a recording by the Slovak State Philharmonic . Her other orchestral compositions: Lamentoso, after the rain, Concerto for Home-made Instruments, Ode to Joy Fanfare, Leaves, and Summer Sun, have all received multiple performances. Her music is published by the Theodore Presser Company, and Subito Music.