Music Director - Karen Lynne Deal
Maestra Deal has used classical music not only to entertain, but also to educate and make history come alive in our state capital and beyond. As a result, she has been awarded the Illinois Humanities Council, “Studs Terkel” award for her service in education and outreach, the Illinois Council of Orchestras award for “Community Service,” the Springfield Arts Council’s Mayor’s Award for Individual Artist of the Year, and the Illinois Council of Orchestras award for “Meritorious Service in Outstanding Programming.” Maestra Deal is noted across the country for her passionate performances and precise technique, and her orchestral, ballet, and operatic repertoire is extensive. Guest engagements have included the Boise Philharmonic, Nashville, Reading (PA), New Mexico, Waterloo/Cedar Falls (Iowa), Tulsa, Tucson, Sacramento, Richmond (VA), Springfield (MO), Westmoreland (PA), Brevard (FL), and Bremerton (WA) Symphony Orchestras, the Kansas City Camerata, and the Orquesta del Nuevo Mundo in Mexico City. At home with a wide variety of styles and concert formats, Maestra Deal has conducted for such prominent soloists as Itzhak Perlman, James Galway, and William Warfield, as well as popular artists, Peter, Paul and Mary, Chet Atkins, Kathy Mattea, and Mercedes Ellington. Prior to coming to Illinois, Maestra Deal was Associate Conductor of the Nashville Symphony from 1992-2000. She also served as Music Director and Conductor of Nashville Ballet from 1992- 2000, and frequently guest conducted numerous operas with Nashville Opera and Tennessee Opera Theatre. Before moving to Nashville, Maestra Deal spent six years as Associate Conductor of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, and was Founding Music Director of the Sinfonia Concertante, a professional chamber orchestra noted for its commitment to living composers. She made her European debut in Vienna, Austria, with the Pro Arte Orchestra and assisted at the Frankfurt State Opera on performances of Der Rosenkavalier, before returning to the United States to pursue her doctoral studies in orchestral conducting at The Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. She has a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting and a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance. She received conducting scholarships at both the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals, and won the National Repertory Orchestra’s Biennial Conducting Competition, serving two years as its Associate Conductor. Maestra Deal’s public image is wide ranging, from appearing on PBS’ Nova science series to receiving the 1997 “Coolest People” award by Nashville Life magazine. She received a citation of appreciation from the Mayor of Nashville, in recognition of her years of leadership as creator and conductor of “Let Freedom Ring,” an annual musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She is in demand as a guest speaker, lecturing on leadership and diversity inclusion for academic and civic groups. In Springfield she has addressed the Animal Protective League, Leadership Springfield, Illinois Women in Leadership, the Urban League, Freedom School, Prairie Heart Center for Living, and Daughters of the American Revolution, among others. An animal enthusiast, she lives in Springfield with her dogs Jake and Skye and enjoys spending the summer snorkeling with whale sharks, giant manta rays, barracuda, and sea turtles. |
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This season the Illinois Symphony Orchestra celebrates the 11th anniversary of Music Director Karen Lynne Deal. Under Maestra Deal’s leadership, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra continues to be artistically and financially strong, selling more tickets to a growing and diverse audience. In the 2008-2009 season, she led the orchestra in its Ravinia debut and created and conducted the Illinois State Bicentennial Commission’s “Let Freedom Sing” community celebration concert at the Prairie Convention Center in honor of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. She also created and conducted the 2008 “An American Dream” concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Abraham Lincoln Association and of the NAACP and commemorating the anniversary of the Springfield Race Riots of 1908.