After more than two years, more than 250 applicants from around the world, 80 interviews and 16 guest conductors, Colorado Springs Philharmonic has its new music director and conductor.
French-born Chloé Dufresne, who lives in Paris, will take over the role that was vacated by Josep Caballé Domenech at the end of the orchestra’s 2022-2023 season. Her first concert with the Philharmonic will be at the 99th season opener Oct. 4-5 featuring Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, with guest pianist Awadagin Pratt.
“She’s going to be a dream to work with,” said Philharmonic President and CEO Nathan Newbrough. “Chloé is from Montpelier in France, trained in France and did her master’s in graduate school in Finland. And is, as one of her references told me, going to have a big career with somebody. So why not us?”
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The award-winning Dufresne also is the first female music director in the Philharmonic’s almost century-old history.
“It will be extremely good for our community,” Newbrough said. “For the children who are coming to hear the Philharmonic for the first time, and the community and audience members who think about orchestras in only one way, to see what else is possible.”
Dufresne, who will continue to live in France, will be at the podium for five weekends during her first season, which features world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman in the spring. That number of appearances will increase during future seasons. Her contract will last at least three years, with the option for two more.
“I’m proud to take this position and grateful they trust me,” Dufresne said from home in Paris. “It’s probably still harder to get high-ranking positions as women because some people in history have the idea that power positions are males. I’m also grateful the orchestra was happy to have a woman or they didn’t care about gender.”
A search committee of 14, including Philharmonic musicians, board members, community members and Newbrough, selected Dufresne, who guest conducted the “Mozart and Haydn” concerts in early 2024 at Ent Center for the Arts. While not an applicant for the job at the time, she applied after working with the orchestra, Newbrough says.
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“She was a favorite of the musicians from very early on,” he said. “There’s something about the chemistry that just worked. There was an energy and an electricity. When you’re performing this music — Haydn, Mozart, smaller works — there’s nowhere for anyone to hide. The conductor can’t hide. The musicians can’t hide. You really know what you’re working with and if the person conducting has vision for the music. Sometimes there’s something you can’t quite put words to but you know when it’s working.”
Though this is Dufresne’s first time as music director of an orchestra, her resume is populated with achievements. She’s led performances at Opéra de Rouen, Semperoper Dresden, Finnish National Radio Orchestra and the Paris Philharmonic. She won third place in the 2021 Malko Competition in Copenhagen, first place in the 2021 Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors in France, and was a Dudamel Fellow in 2022-2023. Her education includes a master’s in orchestral conducting from Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and she also was trained in choral conducting and vocal performance at the Paris Conservatory. She plays viola.
Sarah Balian, an oboist who’s played with the Philharmonic for two decades, also was part of the music director search committee. She feels positive about the choice they made, saying she’s the right leader at the right moment.
“What stood out to me was her musical excellence,” Balian said. “She’s a gifted musician, an emotionally intelligent leader and she fosters a collaborative environment for the orchestra, which allows members to take risks and create exceptional music. Chloé is a dynamic choice and she’ll bring fresh perspectives, innovative programming and authentic charisma to the podium.”
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Newbrough and others preloaded the upcoming season with concerto artists who needed to be booked early, but left the rest of the season planning to their new conductor. Dufresne has an affinity for female composers and, naturally, French composers, though she plans to offer plenty of American music in conjunction with next year’s 250th anniversary of the U.S.
“Women in music history and in general have been forgotten and hidden,” she said. “There are a lot of pieces written by women that haven’t been played because they were women, not because they are bad. If the music is good it should be played.”
As a trained opera singer she also loves to encourage people to sing and hopes to build collaborations between the orchestra and choirs.
“She’s a generous person with so much life in her but also great experience, deep experience,” Newbrough said. “Working in opera and orchestral music will definitely benefit us, but there’s also a spirit of fun. She’s done concerts where, in the moment, she teaches the audience to sing along with the music. This is something most conductors would never dream of doing, because it’s risky. It’s risky to trust the audience and community that much.”
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