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After starting her career as a dancer and singer, Di Russo will now lead the Wilmington-based orchestra in its 120th season.
Michelle Di Russo conducts the North Carolina Symphony during a summer performance, as she nears the end of her tenure as assistant conductor. She recently made history as the first woman to be named music director of the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. (Courtesy of Michelle Di Russo)
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The Delaware Symphony Orchestra is beginning a new era in its 120th season with a historic first.
Michelle Di Russo has been named the orchestra’s new music director, following an international search that began in 2023. She is the first woman in the orchestra’s history to hold the role.
“Winning your first position as music director, as a conductor in general, it’s the most exciting thing,” Di Russo said. “It’s something you’ve been working towards for years, right? And for it to be a place like Delaware and with the Delaware Symphony and having been there, connected with the community and worked with the orchestra, I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is the perfect fit for me.”
Di Russo emerged as a standout among four finalists who appeared during the DSO’s 2024 and 2025 season. The orchestra’s musicians, board members, staff and community were all part of the decision-making process.
“Michelle Di Russo was the unanimous choice of both the search committee and our board,” said J.C. Barker, the orchestra’s chief executive officer, in a statement. “We are thrilled to welcome her as we look to a bold new chapter and beyond.”
The appointment is not just a personal milestone — it marks a breakthrough for representation in classical music in Delaware.
“I think it’s always exciting to be the first one to break those glass ceilings slowly,” Di Russo said. “It’s also exciting to know that the community and the musicians and the organization, everyone is ready for it as well. It just makes me feel very welcome and very excited to help them go into this new path.”
She began her career in the arts not as a conductor but as a performer. In her native Argentina, she worked in musical theater as a dancer and singer before a final exam unexpectedly steered her in a new direction.
“I really didn’t know that was my path,” she said. “But when I conducted the orchestra for the first time… there’s this energy. I don’t know, I just can’t describe it. It just really ignited passion in me and I just knew that that was the path I needed to take on.”
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She moved to the U.S. to pursue degrees in orchestral and opera conducting and has since held fellowships with the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Her mentors include conductors such as Marin Alsop, the first woman to serve as music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Mei-Ann Chen, music director at the Chicago Sinfonietta and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.
“It was a very pivotal moment in my career when I did the fellowship,” she said.
Musicians in the orchestra quickly took notice of her energy and artistry.
“From the time she first appeared with the DSO in 2024, it was obvious Michelle was something special,” said Dan McDougall, the orchestra’s principal bassist. “I’m excited to see what her infectious energy brings to the DSO and her vision for the next chapter of our life.”
Di Russo hopes her leadership inspires a new generation of artists.
“Until I saw a woman doing what I wanted to be doing … I really didn’t consider that I could have a professional career in music [on] that level,” she said. “Just seeing yourself represented in any sort of position of leadership is a huge step for all the women that are in classical music in general, but hopefully for anyone that is just trying to pursue a path in a career that is not very women-dominated.”
As she prepares for her debut concert with the DSO on Oct. 10, Di Russo said she’s eager to connect more deeply with Delaware audiences.
“I hope that this is inspiring and it helps them just stick to it, be persistent, work hard and just trust the process, find your allies and know that eventually things come through and you just need to find your place,” she said.
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