Maria Fuller, Conductor
GSO Holiday Pops- December 8, 2024, River Run Centre
“HER BRIGHT, VOLATILE PERSONALITY, AND RICH IMAGINATION MAKE THE ORCHESTRA SHINE. SHE TELLS STORIES FULL OF COLORS AND VIVID IMAGES. AT THE SAME TIME, SHE IS SPECIFIC, SHE CAN BOTH PERSISTENTLY PURSUE, AND LET GO.”
– Ruch MUZYCZNY: The 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition
Hailed as an artist of “subtle control, careful focus and thorough professionalism,” by the Chronical Journal, and “fiery and dynamic,” by the Walleye Magazine, Canadian conductor MARIA FULLER demonstrates unparalleled energy and an infectious joy in her music-making. Admired for the broad-scope of her musicianship, Maria performs internationally as a conductor, pianist, trumpeter, and is also an acclaimed vocal coach, award-winning composer, and sought after arranger. Last November Maria was a finalist at the 11th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Conducting Competition in Poland, which has garnered her appearances in Europe as conductor and repetiteur. This spring, she made her operatic debut at the Teatr Wielki w Łodzi in Poland with three performances of Hansel und Gretel, and next season she will assist at the Prague State Opera. This fall, Maria will return to Poland as Resident Guest Conductor at the Teatr w Wielki w Łodzi, as well as begin a mentorship with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in Montrèal.
This year marks Maria’s first year as the founding Music Director of Ammolite Opera in Calgary. She is also the Onstage Music Director, Trumpeter, and Composer at the Badlands Passion Play in Drumheller. In 2021, Maria represented Canada in the inaugural La Maestra International Conducting Competition in Paris, and in 2019 she received the prestigious David Effron Conducting Fellowship at the Chautauqua Institute in New York. Currently a conductor with Tapestry Opera in Toronto, with whom she was an advising mentor, Maria has engagements conducting from coast to coast. Last season her debut performances were with the Victoria, Winnipeg, Kingston, and Hamilton orchestras, as well as with New Music Concerts Toronto, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and Music Niagara Festival. She has also assisted at the Toronto Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Pacific Opera Victoria, and Manitoba Opera. This season, her Canadian debut performances are with Ammolite Opera, Manitoba Underground Opera, the Calgary Philharmonic, and as an arranger and conductor, with the Kamloops and Guelph Symphonies.
As a pianist, trumpeter, and composer, Maria is a laureate of several international competitions. Her participation as the youngest pianist at the Franz Schubert Institute in Baden, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg has garnered her recital appearances across Austria, including at the Beethoven Haus. On the piano, Fuller has performed for Lang-Lang, Lee Kum-Sing, André Laplanté, Julius Drake, Helmut Deutsch, and for singers Robert Holl, Barbara Bonney, and Elly Ameling. Her rendition of Der Erlkönig is highly acclaimed and is played at universities across the world, which has brought her YouTube view count to over one million. Her education includes a BMUS in Piano from the McGill University, a MM in Piano, an Artist Diploma in Operatic Coaching, and a MM in Orchestral Conducting (with Mo. Mark Gibson), at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).
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