Meet Shira Samuels-Shragg

VISIT DALLAS: What motivated you to pursue a career in orchestral conducting, and how did your journey lead you to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: I grew up in a house full of music lovers, but no professional musicians. My parents put me in piano lessons when I was six, and I started playing viola as part of my school's program. I loved going with my parents to see the L.A. Philharmonic perform, and I thought, oh, it looks so fun to be the person at the front of the orchestra waving the stick around. In eighth grade I did a research paper on women in conducting, and I asked our music teacher if he would give me some conducting lessons at recess. He said, “if you work hard enough, I'll let you conduct our lower school orchestra.” And true to his word, he let me conduct Beauty and the Beast. I just fell in love right away.

At the time, I thought this combined my three favorite things, music, dance and being in charge. I like to think I have a slightly more nuanced appreciation for what conducting is now. I graduated with my master's degree in orchestral conducting from Juilliard in spring of 2022, and moved to North Texas to work for the Plano Symphony where I spent the last two years. In the second year I was also working for the Spokane Symphony out in Washington, going back and forth. A year ago, I got to the final round for the audition for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s assistant conductor position, and I came down to the Meyerson, conducted the orchestra, and they called me the next day and said, “you got it.” I cried. It was really a dream come true to have this job.

VISIT DALLAS: Can you describe the impact of your experiences at The Juilliard School on your conducting style and approach?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: When I got to Juilliard I was working with musicians at a higher level than I had ever had the chance to conduct before. I learned so much from working with them. Suddenly it was not about getting the musicians in front of me to play the right notes and the right dynamics that were in their parts. They were already doing that. It was suddenly thinking, “what can I add to what they're already doing so well”, that really pushed me to develop more nuance in my own conducting.

VISIT DALLAS: What are some of the challenges you've faced in the world of conducting, and how have you overcome them?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: It can be a really brutal field. You are expected to know the score better than anyone else in the room. But when you work with a top orchestra like this, many of the musicians have been in the orchestra since before I was born. I'm not about to get up there and tell them, “well, this is what Brahms really means.” It's a balance of being committed to the study, always trying to learn more, and honoring the incredible work of the musicians in front of you. Just as with many fields, you can get into a Catch 22 where orchestras don't want to hire you until you have a lot of experience, but when you're starting out, you don’t have that experience. That can be a tough bump to overcome. A position like this is amazing because it gives me that experience that makes orchestras feel like they can trust me.

VISIT DALLAS: What would you say was your breakthrough moment or turning point in your career?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: One big turning point was the first time I conducted the Spokane Symphony in Washington. We clicked right away, and over the two and a half years that have followed, they really believed in me and gave me a lot of opportunities to get better. My time in the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors here in Dallas was also a crucial experience that gave me a big confidence boost, and a lot of excellent tangible tools. Both of these experiences taught me so much, and prepared me for the huge milestone of winning the Dallas Symphony assistant conductor position.

VISIT DALLAS: Who were your biggest supporters or mentors along the way?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: Our Music Director here at the DSO, Fabio Luisi, is an inspiration; he communicates so vividly and passionately with the orchestra, it's amazing to learn from him. James Lowe, the Music Director in Spokane, has also been a phenomenal mentor and advisor. In college, Andrew Hauze was my conducting professor who, in addition to patiently teaching me the basics, created projects so I could get conducting experience. I studied with David Robertson at Juilliard, and he has a brilliant mind and approach to music. He's conducting our first concert of the season in Dallas in the fall!

VISIT DALLAS: Your engagements span multiple orchestras. What have been some of your most memorable conducting experiences so far?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: This performance hasn't happened yet, but in June I'm really looking forward to conducting the DSO's sensory-friendly concert for families with kids on the autism spectrum, for which we've chosen an "Under the Sea" theme. I think it's going to be a blast. This concert speaks to the DSO’s mission of making music tfor every member of the community; that we want each person in Dallas and beyond to feel welcome at the Meyerson. Outside of Dallas, I made my subscription debut with the Spokane Symphony last month, which was a deeply meaningful week for me. I also got to guest conduct the Chattanooga Symphony, and loved meeting a new orchestra in a city I'd never been to before.

VISIT DALLAS: How do you bring the Dallas brand’s “maverick, can-do spirit” into your daily work?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: I think you have to channel a bit of maverick energy to have the audacity to get in front of an orchestra and own it. I am trying every day to have more of that spirit and can-do attitude that comes into play. The assistant conductor role requires the wearing of so many different hats and if someone asks you to do something, you do it, and you do so happily. I hope that the rest of the artistic team here feels that I'm someone that can get any task done, no matter the ask.

VISIT DALLAS: How do you approach leading community-focused concerts, and what role do they play in your work with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: This goes back to the idea that we want everyone in Dallas to feel that they are welcomed and included at the Meyerson. Something I love about my job is getting to take the lead with what music we're programming for the community facing concerts. If there are young ones that will be in our audience, I like to lead with a theme and then pick music that combines the classics that I think they will learn to love, and pop culture elements that they already love. For the upcoming “Under the Sea” concert, we're playing “How Far I'll Go” from Moana and an “Under The Sea” medley from The Little Mermaid. Then, lots of beautiful standard repertoire, like Scheherazade and Britten’s Four Sea Interludes, get woven together in a narrative that I would have wanted to hear and experience as a kid.

VISIT DALLAS: How do you tailor your educational lectures to make classical music engaging for new audiences?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: A big part of my role is the pre-concert talks, which we call the Performance Preludes, where I dive into the music that's being performed on our subscription concerts. I try to paint a picture of what the world was like when the composer of each piece was working. I play my favorite moments from the pieces on the piano, and discuss what makes them special. If you're reading this article, I hope you'll consider coming to a Performance Prelude! Whether it's your first or 100th time at the Meyerson, I try to give you an interesting new perspective to bring into the concert hall with you.

VISIT DALLAS: What initiatives or projects at the Dallas Symphony are you particularly passionate about?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: I am very passionate about our equity, diversity and inclusion committee that I'm honored to be a new member of. The Dallas Symphony recently joined Inclusive Stages, a nationwide initiative founded by the League of American Orchestras. This program helps orchestras around the country work together to ensure we're creating room at the table for voices from all backgrounds.

VISIT DALLAS: What are some of the common misconceptions about women in the performing arts industries?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: I think our field suffers from the same misconceptions about women that most industries do: that we're not quite as capable or commanding, that we can't lead as convincingly, that if we have kids our work won't be as good. I can say I am very grateful for the generations of women conductors ahead of me. They kicked down so many walls and barriers that I have never had someone say to me, “you can't do that. That's not for girls.”

There have been tremendous strides in terms of supporting women conductors, but when we look at the top orchestras around the country, the number of women in Music Director positions is still abysmal. We have two or three women Music Directors in the top 50 orchestras in the country. Even though progress has been made, we still have a long way to go.

VISIT DALLAS: What advice do you have for young girls interested in pursuing a career in music, especially conducting?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: Go for it! It's the most fun you could possibly imagine. It's also a lot of hard work and a lot of lonely hours by yourself with your music. But, it's my happy place and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

VISIT DALLAS: How does living and working in Dallas inspire your musical and professional endeavors?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: I am loving living in Dallas. The fact that we have this incredible orchestra and we're next door to a major opera house is wonderful. There are so many musicians and artists from all over the world who come to create and perform in Dallas. It's a very musically inspiring city to be in.

VISIT DALLAS: Can you share how Dallas supports the advancement and empowerment of women?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: Here at the symphony we have incredible women in positions of leadership like Ross Perot President & Chief Executive Officer Michelle Miller Burns, our Chief Artistic Officer Katie McGuinness, and our Chief Financial Officer Melissa Rutledge. We have a great culture of women in leadership. What more can I say about the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute next door at the opera? It is a world leader in programs that are supporting and uplifting young women conductors. That program brings women conductors from all over the world to Dallas, which is great.

VISIT DALLAS: When you’re not working, where in Dallas do you find inspiration and relaxation?

SHIRA SAMUELS-SHRAGG: You can always find me in the arts district. I love the Nasher Sculpture Center’s garden. I also love White Rock Lake and the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. I'm a big core power yoga fan and Dallas has a bunch of locations, so I go there to unwind.