Maria Fuller and Naomi Woo are just the second cohort of Women in Musical Leadership (WML) conductors to graduate from Tapestry Opera’s three-year program. WML is a cornerstone of Tapestry Opera’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, providing invaluable opportunities and mentorship to emerging female leaders in the industry.
Maria Fuller
Maria has been enjoying great success in Europe since relocating there last season. As a guest Resident Conductor at the Teatr Wielki w Łodzi in Poland, Maria has music directed several productions, including a set of three premier ballet performances, two performances of Madame Butterfly, and eight performances of Hansel und Gretel, and assistant conducted Der fliegende Holländer, Romeo and Juliet, Turandot, and coached Hansel und Gretel and L’elisir d’amore. Maria was also assistant conductor for Manon Lescaut at the Narodnì Divadlo in Prague (the theatre where Mozart premiered Don Giovanni in 1787).
This May, Maria was selected from 160 applicants for the Assistant Conductor position with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, in Belgium, for the 25/26 season. This past season, she was selected by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor of the NY Metropolitan Opera, to partake in a unique fellowship with him and the Orchestre Métropolitain.
This year also marks Maria’s second year as the Founding Music Director of Ammolite Opera, in Calgary. In their first season, Ammolite Opera received four nominations from the Betty Mitchell Awards in Calgary, including Outstanding Musical Direction from Maria. As a composer and arranger, Maria’s works will be featured at the 2nd Ammolite Opera Christmas production in Calgary this December. She will premier a piano quintet version of her own Messiah, called: “The Christmas Messiah.”
Other recent highlights include being featured in Opera Canada’s “Musician of the Week” series for her engagements in Europe and finishing as a finalist in the 11th International Fitelberg Competition in Poland.
Naomi Woo
This past season, Naomi guest conducted with orchestras across North America and Europe, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, Edmonton Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Royal Conservatory Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, and Calgary Philharmonic. She is currently the Music Director of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Artistic Partner with the Orchestre Métropolitain, and Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
This July, she leads the National Youth Orchestra of Canada through their summer tour for the second time.
Other recent highlights include a tour of England leading English Touring Opera’s production of Cinderella, conducting the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone in Vancouver, and the world premiere of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s The Night Falls in New York City.
Please join us in congratulating them both and wishing them the best in their future successes!