Celebrated for her “masterful hand and oneness with the music,” American conductor Maria Sensi Sellner is a sought-after collaborator and visionary impresario for the 21st century. The first three-time winner of the American Prize for Opera Conducting and a proud alumnus of The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors, Ms. Sensi Sellner is known for her passionate artistry and versatility. She is the founder and Artistic and General Director of Resonance Works, a visionary, genre-defying performing arts organization committed to socially-relevant, innovative productions of new and rarely-performed works, and was selected for the competitive Opera America Leadership Intensive in 2023.

Ms. Sensi Sellner is regarded for her mastery of bel canto and contemporary music, as well as her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi and J.S. Bach. On the opera stage, recent seasons have included the world premiere of Circe on Superior with Lyric Opera of the North, Roméo & Juliette for El Paso Opera, When the Sun Comes Out for Portland Opera, Nabucco and Hansel and Gretel for Opera Ithaca, Cavalleria rusticana for Lyric Opera of the North, Don Giovanni for Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Steamboat, Cosí fan tutte for the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and was on the music staff for Romeo et Juliette at The Dallas Opera. Ms. Sensi Sellner is equally at home in concert repertoire, and has been a frequent cover conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

As the Artistic and General Director of Resonance Works, Ms. Sensi Sellner’s 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. In its 13 seasons, Resonance Works has proudly presented 13 world premieres, as well as dozens of local and regional premieres. In 2018, led by Ms. Sensi Sellner, Resonance Works made a commitment to programming at least half of the works in a season by women and a third by creators of color — a goal they have achieved or surpassed every year. A passionate advocate for contemporary opera, she was also the co-founder and lead producer of the Decameron Opera Coalition, a collective of indie opera companies from across the country leveraging their creativity and resources to cultivate new works.

Previously, Ms. Sensi Sellner was Acting Music Director of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh (the chorus of choice for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra), Director of the Akron Symphony Chorus, interim faculty at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music, and was Director of the Carnegie Mellon All University Orchestras for a decade. She holds master’s degrees in conducting (a student of Robert Page), composition, and mechanical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.