ABOUT

Claire Lewis is a conductor and pianist based in New York City. Claire is the recipient of the Harmony Fellowship for Underrepresented Conductors, assisting and conducting performances with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. She previously served as the Richmond Symphony’s inaugural Conducting Apprentice, working closely with the Richmond Symphony, Virginia Opera, and the Richmond Ballet. Claire was also selected for the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Mentoring Program, where she worked with the world’s leading women conductors.

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Claire made her conducting debut at 19 at Carnegie Hall with the Chamber Orchestra of New York, as winner of the Respighi Prize. She has conducted orchestras worldwide, including the Orchestre Métropolitain, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony, and National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has served as assistant conductor for performances with the Colorado Symphony, Washington Choral Arts, and the Chamber Orchestra of New York. Claire was the co-founder and Vice President of the non-profit San Marcos Youth Strings from 2017-2019.

 

When Claire was 13, she became the youngest graduate of Palomar College, earning an Associate’s Degree in Science and Math. She then studied classical piano with William Wolfram at Manhattan School of Music, and received her Bachelor’s of Music Degree in Spring 2023. Claire earned her Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, under the tutelage of Marin Alsop. Additional conducting mentors include Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Joseph Young, Salvatore Di Vittorio, Jose-Luis Novo, Grant Cooper, Gerard Schwarz.