Catherine Comet (born 1944) is a French-born, American
conductor who from 1986 to 1997 was the music director of the
Grand Rapids Symphony in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, becoming the first woman to hold a post as music director of a professional orchestra in the United States. During her 11-year tenure with the Grand Rapids Symphony, she also served as music director of the
American Symphony Orchestra.
[
] She received the
Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award The Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award was an award for conductors in the United States.
History
The award was established in 1985 as the ''Affiliate Artists' Seaver Conducting Award''. The award was being given every two or t ...
in 1988.
From 1984 to 1986, Comet was associate conductor of the
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, it bega ...
.
References
External links
*
Interview with Catherine Comet January 7, 1991
Women conductors (music)
Living people
1944 births
21st-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American conductors (music)
21st-century American women musicians
20th-century American women musicians
French emigrants to the United States
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