Diane Wittry is currently the Music Director and Conductor of both the Allentown Symphony, PA, and the Norwalk Symphony, CT. She is in demand as a guest conductor nationally and internationally and has conducted orchestras in Italy, Japan, Canada, Russia, Slovakia, Bosnia, and Ukraine. American orchestras she has worked with include: The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Milwaukee Symphony, The San Diego Symphony, The Buffalo Philharmonic, The New Jersey Symphony, The Houston Symphony, The Florida Philharmonic, The Santa Barbara Symphony, and The Ojai Festivals Chamber Orchestra, among others.
As a composer, Diane Wittry’s composition “Mist” was premiered by the Allentown Symphony, PA, in March 2008 to rave reviews. A recording is available on the Pizazz label with the Slovak State Philharmonic, Kosice. “Mist” has already been premiered in five different states and has received numerous radio broadcasts. Her orchestra composition “Lamentoso” was premiered in 2010. Diane Wittry’s music is based upon capturing emotions and visual images and transferring them to sound. She feels that each piece should be a journey and should impact the listener in a visceral way. Her piece “Lamentoso” explores the different stages of dealing with grief from losing a loved one. Other compositions by Diane Wittry include “After the Rain” for chamber ensemble and “For Every Time…” a large symphonic work. Diane Wittry has been accepted to composer residency programs in Italy and in Connecticut, and her music is published by the Theodore Presser Company.
Diane Wittry received her Masters degree in conducting from the University of Southern California. Her other teachers and mentors include Michael Tilson Thomas, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Gustav Meier, and Jorge Mester; most recently, she worked with the renowned Russian conductor Leonid Korchmar of the Kirov Opera, and Jorma Panula from Finland.
Over the years, Diane Wittry has received many honors and awards, including the American Symphony Orchestra League’s 1996 Helen M. Thompson Award for outstanding artistic leadership of a regional orchestra. She has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times (September, 2002) and Newsweek (September, 1994). In 2000, Ms. Wittry received the “Women of Excellence” Award in Beaumont, Texas; and in 1999 and 2000, the “Arts Ovation Award” and the “Woman of Distinction Award” from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Most recently, she became only the third American to be named - in recognition of her leadership in the arts and humanities - the recipient of the prestigious Fiorino Doro Award from the city of Vinci, Italy.
Diane Wittry is also the author of the book “Beyond the Baton” (Oxford University Press, 2007) which explores concepts of programming and artistic leadership for young conductors. This book was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and it is now the focus of a national conducting workshop hosted annually by the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra.