Artists’ Profiles

Stephanie Childress

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Conductor

Stephanie Childress, now in her early 20s, is making her mark as a conductor of remarkable skill who has been likened to “other notable young conductors of the past such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner and Sir Simon Rattle” (Varsity). Her musicianship and command of a broad scope of repertoire has led to international engagements with symphony orchestras, contemporary chamber groups, and opera houses.

In the 2020–21 season, Childress took up her position as Assistant Conductor of St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. As a violinist, Childress rose to prominence as a string finalist in BBC Young Musician of the Year in both 2016 and 2018. She was featured in the BBC’s 2019 Proms Launch Video ahead of her Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall with the Southbank Sinfonia and Jessica Cottis. Shortly after, she performed alongside the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at Glasgow’s Proms in the Park. In January 2020 she made her solo debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vasily Petrenko.

Childress is an active supporter of the Tri-borough Music Hub, an award-winning organization for music education. She has taken part in a number of programs with the association, including leading the junior string ensemble at an “Artists for Inclusivity” event and speaking at the Youth Music Conference 2020 held at the Royal College of Music. She has appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and BBC Proms Extra, as well as joining adjudicating panels for the RPS Awards (Storytelling Category) and the Ivor Novello Awards (Orchestral Category).

Geneva Lewis

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Violin

New Zealand-born violinist Geneva Lewis has forged a reputation as a musician of consummate artistry whose performances speak from and to the heart. Lauded for the “remarkable mastery of her instrument” (CVNC) and hailed as “clearly one to watch” (Musical America), Lewis is the recipient of a2022 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, and Grand Prize winner of the 2020 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Other recent accolades include Kronberg Academy’s Prince of Hesse Prize and being named a Finalist at the 2018 Naumburg Competition, a Performance Today Young Artist in Residence, and Musical America’s New Artist of the Month.

After her solo debut at age 11 with the Pasadena POPS, Lewis has gone on to perform with orchestras around the world and worked with a number of notable conductors. An advocate of community engagement and music education, Lewis was selected for the New England Conservatory’s Community Performances and Partnerships Program’s Ensemble Fellowship.

Lewis is currently in the Artist Diploma program as the recipient of the Charlotte F. Rabb Presidential Scholarship at the New England Conservatory studying with Miriam Fried. Prior to that, she studied with Aimée Kreston at the Colburn School of Performing Arts. Past summers have taken her to the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Perlman Music Program’s Chamber Workshop, International Holland Music Sessions, Taos School of Music, and the Heifetz International Music Institute.

Lewis currently performs on the “Joachim-Ma” Stradivarius, c. 1714, courtesy of the New England Conservatory of Music.