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English National Ballet announces appointment of Maria Seletskaja as new Music Director
Seletskaja started her career as a professional ballet dancer performing with leading companies worldwide, before making the transition to conductor.
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Photo credit: Maria-Helena Buckley
English National Ballet has today announced the appointment of Maria Seletskaja as Music Director.
Seletskaja started her career as a professional ballet dancer performing with leading companies around the world, before making the transition to conductor. She studied music theory, harmony, and orchestration at Berklee College of Music in Boston and during her final years as a dancer, was also an assistant conductor at Stuttgart Ballet where she made her conducting debut in April 2017. Since 2018, Seletskaja has dedicated herself to conducting, working with prestigious ballet companies including The National Ballet of Canada where she was Conductor-in-Residence, San Francisco Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet and most recently, Paris Opera Ballet, where she conducted Soirée Robbins.
Aaron. S. Watkin, English National Ballet’s Artistic Director, said: “Maria’s innate understanding of the art form gives her a unique perspective, which, alongside her energy and intelligence, are a perfect fit for Music Director at English National Ballet. I am excited to work together and look forward to welcoming her to the Company.”
Maria Seletskaja said: “Taking up the position of Music Director at English National Ballet marks the beginning of an exciting chapter in my professional life, which I am thrilled about. I am looking forward to working alongside English National Ballet’s Artistic Director, Aaron Watkin, and sharing my love of music with the wonderful musicians of English National Ballet Philharmonic, the dancers, and of course, our audiences.”
Working closely with the Artistic Director, the role of Music Director will see Seletskaja oversee the creative direction and quality of music at English National Ballet and English National Ballet Philharmonic, as well as leadership of the Music Department.
Seletskaja will conduct with English National Ballet at performances of Nutcracker and Swan Lake in-the-round in January and June 2024 respectively, before starting her full-time role as Music Director at the beginning of the 2024-2025 Season.
Seletskaja takes over from previous Music Director, Gavin Sutherland, who continues to work with English National Ballet as Principal Guest Conductor.
