“a masterful hand
and oneness with the music she conducts.”
Conductor Maria Sensi Sellner’s artistry, versatility, and reputation for innovation are making her a sought-after collaborator and an impresario for the 21st century. She was the first three-time winner of the American Prize for Opera Conducting, praised as “mightily impressive”, and is a proud alum of The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors. Maria is the Artistic & General Director of Resonance Works, the genre-defying performing arts company she founded in her native Pittsburgh in 2013; co-founder and lead producer of the Decameron Opera Coalition; and a frequent cover conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Her unique, artist-driven programming has been praised for its “innovative streak” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) and for bringing a “welcome infusion of sophistication and diversity” (I Care If You Listen) to Pittsburgh’s cultural landscape.
Recent seasons have included a number of company debuts across the country - including Portland Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Opera Ithaca, Lyric Opera of the North, Opera Steamboat, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City - conducting her favorite mix of Verdi, bel canto, and contemporary repertoire.
“When Maria is conducting opera, she is in her element… tempos are well chosen; incisive without being pushed; voices are robust and rarely covered; the drama unfolds with energy and conviction; ensemble is extraordinarily tight…
Mightily impressive, this is excellent work.”
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“hardly glancing at the singers, Maria Sensi Sellner just seemed to know what they were going to do, and to provide just the right support.”
“a thorough musician who inspires her musicians, bringing vision, incredible energy and tenacity to all that she does.”
