Stephanie Rhodes Russell is an alum of the Dallas Opera’s Institute for Women Conductors, the Houston Grand Opera Studio and the Merola Opera Program. She was a Conducting Fellow with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2019-2021, where she appeared regularly with the ensemble leading education, family, and community concerts while serving as cover conductor for the symphonic subscription series. She is also the recipient of a 2019 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, designed to aid outstanding young conductors in developing their talents and careers.
The 2024-2025 season brings a number of significant returns for Maestro Rhodes Russell: Utah Opera, for Hänsel und Gretel, Arizona Opera, for her first career performances of Verdi's Aida, and Washington National Opera, for the orchestrated world premiere of Jungle Book by Kamala Sankaram (composer) and Kelley Rourke (librettist). She also makes her orchestral debut with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera conducting works by Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and returns to the National Symphony Orchestra, assisting conductors Gianandrea Noseda, James Gaffigan and Marin Alsop on four programs.
During the 2023-2024 season, the conductor made debuts with Washington National Opera, leading Jeanine Tesori’s The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, and Arizona Opera, adding Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette to her repertoire. With Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, she conducted performances of Tchaikovsky’s masterwork Eugene Onegin, and with the National Symphony Orchestra, she assisted Music Director Gianandrea Noseda for Verdi’s Otello.
Ms. Rhodes Russell’s 2022-2023 season included company debuts with Austin Opera (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Utah Opera (La fille du régiment), and Cincinnati Opera (The Knock), as well as returns to Madison Opera (Le nozze di Figaro) and Wolf Trap Opera (Don Giovanni).
Previous season highlights include Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Wolf Trap Opera, her debut with Opera Orlando conducting Verdi’s La traviata, a workshop of Git Here (Daniel Bernard Roumain/Anna Deavere Smith) and Four Portraits (Caroline Shaw/Jocelyn Clark) for Lyric Opera of Chicago, Britten’s The Turn of the Screw (Temple University), Handel’s Alcina (University of Michigan) and Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park.
A Fulbright award recipient in Russia, she lived in Moscow specializing in Russian repertoire and pronunciation for non-native singers while working as a guest coach at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. She was thereafter commissioned by The Dallas Opera to transliterate Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and has taught workshops on Russian diction for singers at young artist programs and universities across the United States.
Following her work on the San Francisco Opera Ring Cycle, she was appointed the 2019 Associate Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival, where she served as assistant to Music Director Donald Runnicles and led the GTMF orchestra in the Hartley Family Concert. Additionally, she performed as a pianist in the festival’s renowned Chamber Music Concert Series.
Highlights as an Assistant Conductor include work on two Wagner Ring Cycles with conductors Philippe Auguin and Donald Runnicles and productions of Iolanta, Eugene Onegin, and Queen of Spades with Emmanuel Villaume and Carlo Rizzi. She has served on the music staff of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera, amongst others, and her extensive operatic experience in the roles of assistant conductor, prompter, chorusmaster, rehearsal pianist, and diction coach, brings a comprehensive understanding to her work.
In autumn 2022, Stephanie Rhodes Russell became Associate Professor and Music Director of Opera at the University of North Texas. This position intersects with her strong interest in educating the next generation of artists, which also led her to found the non-profit Women’s Artistic Leadership Initiative (Women’s ALI). The organization’s aim is to educate and empower young female artists, training them to become future community leaders by equipping them with both leadership skills and business acumen. She holds degrees in Collaborative Piano and Piano Performance from the University of Michigan and Utah State University, respectively, and completed a doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Utah.
