Biography
Hailed
by the Los Angeles Times as “Inspiring and Accessible”
Rachael Worby is that rare conductor who is a skilled communicator with
a wide range of repertoire that appeals to audiences everywhere. Distinguished
as a visionary in the orchestral world, she is celebrated internationally
for her extraordinary talents and exuberant style, as well as her versatile
command of all musical genres--symphonic, operatic, pops, classics, and
20th century. A dedicated orchestra builder, she is credited with the remarkable
growth of organizations under her leadership. With the merging last autumn,
with the Pasadena Symphony, Maestra Worby is currently Music Director of
the new Pasadena POPS. She is an unforgettable, inspiring and charismatic
presence on the podium.
Rachael Worby’s dynamic energy, coupled with the highly successful
results she has achieved with diverse organizations, has served to create
a demand for her skills on the international level. As a guest conductor,
she has led orchestras throughout Europe, South America, Australia and Asia.
International guest engagements have included the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra,
the Halle Orchestra (England), the Irish Chamber Orchestra, the Transylvania
Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra,
the Queensland Symphony and the Herzliya Chamber Orchestra in Israel.
Last
season, at the invitation of acclaimed American soprano, Jessye Norman,
Ms. Worby conducted both the China Philharmonic Orchestra in Beijing and
the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra accompanying Ms. Norman in her first appearances
in mainland China. The programs presented Ms. Norman’s signature arias
to sold-out houses. The musical relationship between Ms. Norman and Ms.
Worby continues to flourish and they will appear this spring at the World
Sacred Music Festival in Fez, Morocco and next season in Barcelona and Seoul.
As
Music Director of the former Pasadena POPS in Pasadena, California, Rachael
Worby has been instrumental in the expansion of the orchestra’s performance
season, as well as its national and local profiles. Since taking over the
reins of the nationally acclaimed orchestra in 1999, she has quadrupled
the number of yearly concerts played, developed new programs, dramatically
increased audience attendance, instituted two annual free-to-the-public
concerts on the steps of Pasadena City Hall, and has been influential in
securing dynamic corporate sponsorship. She has brought national attention
to the orchestra by appearing in the internationally televised Rose Bowl
Parades since 2001 and has brought her orchestra to the Rose Bowl July 4th
celebrations. Her dynamic energy will continue to expand on the multitude
of events planned and executed by her new organization the Pasadena POPS,
including a “Winter Season” to be inaugurated in December 2008.
She has also expanded the institution’s outreach programs to underserved
communities, securing significant ongoing funding for programs in South
Central Los Angeles and in Pasadena. It was in the gymnasium at Blair High
School in Pasadena, where last fall prior to their departure for China Ms.
Worby and Jessye Norman collaborated to perform for two-thousand students
in a history-making concert. The broadcast story of that event was chosen
one of National Public Radio’s top-ten programs last season.
In her years as a conductor, Worby has constructed an enviable record as both an outstanding program creator and an audience builder. As leader of her Orchestras she is responsible for enticing renowned celebrity personalities to collaborate with her in performance. These include U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, singer Jubilant Sykes, astronaut Sally Ride, Tony winner Rene Auberjonois, Emmy winners Carl Reiner, Valerie Harper and Holland Taylor, and singers Andrea Marcovicci, Oscar-nominated Lainie Kazan and Golden Globe-nominated Joely Fisher to join her performances. She delights her sold-out audiences with eclectic and memorable concerts crossing a multitude of musical genres and styles.
Concurrent with her Pasadena duties, Worby is Artistic Director and Conductor of the American Music Festival in Cluj, Romania, and Laureate Conductor of the Wheeling West Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Since founding the annual American Music Festival in 1998, Worby has created a growing international series committed to the presentation and preservation of American music. The title of Laureate Conductor of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra was created for Worby in recognition of her dedication to the orchestra during her 17-year tenure (1986-2003).
Previously, she was also Music Director and Conductor of the Young People Concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City (1984-1996) and was Assistant Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1984-1987).
Rachael Worby began her music studies at the age of five in piano. She has been honored with many awards including the Spirit of Achievement from Albert Einstein College and the Women of Excellence award from the YWCA. In 1996, Marshall University awarded Ms. Worby the degree Doctor of Humanities, honorus causa. She was also bestowed the degree of Doctor of Letters, honorus causa from Claremont University in 1995. Awarded in 1998 by Claremont University, Ms. Worby received the Presidential Medal of Honor for her consummate lifetime achievements.
In 1994, Rachael Worby was honored to receive a Presidential appointment to the National Council of the Arts, on which she served for four years. In 1990 she was nominated for an ACE Award for two programs she created, narrated and conducted for the Disney Channel. Rachael Worby was born in Nyack, New York and makes her home in Pasadena with her daughter.
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