Gisèle
Ben-Dor

A formidable and incandescent presence on the podium, conductor Gisèle Ben-Dor has been described by the Los Angeles Times as ‘’a ferocious talent’’.

Most recently, she led the final performance of the 2024 International Jerusalem Solo Dance Festival and was honoured as “A Great Immigrant and A Great American” by the Carnegie Foundation. Her latest CD, “Cien Años,” celebrating Piazzolla’s centenary, has received five-star reviews. This past season, she also conducted the world premiere of the opera “Cuitláhuatzin” in Mexico City.

Among the orchestras she has led are the New York Philharmonic, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Helsinki Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, New World Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, and the Israel Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Seoul and Rotterdam Philharmonics, among others.

Maestra Ben-Dor serves as the Conductor Laureate of the Santa Barbara Symphony and is the Conductor Emerita of the Boston Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra. In 2004, she collaborated with Georgina Ginastera to create the Tango and Malambo Festival, a diverse celebration featuring concerts, dance, and film focusing on tango and malambo. In 2000, she founded the Revueltas Festival.

As a champion of Latin American music, she is well known for her dedication to the works of Ginastera, Revueltas, Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, and Luis Bacalov. She is regarded as one of the world’s finest advocates for this repertoire and has commissioned and recorded world-premiere orchestral scores of Ginastera’s piano works.

Her most recent projects include a recording of Ginastera’s vocal music (“The Vocal Album”) with Placido Domingo and a recording of Piazzolla with the Boston Pro-Arte Chamber Orchestra, “Cien Años” (“A Hundred Years”). Upcoming recordings include another Bartók CD (including a world premiere of Mikrokosmos select pieces ) and Ginastera (the opera Beatrix Cenci).