Rachael Worby is an American conductor who currently serves as the Artistic Director, Conductor and Founder of MUSE/IQUE.

Life and career

Early life and education

Worby grew up in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a village located primarily in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retains a very small western section in Clarkstown. It is a suburb of New York City lying approximately no ...

with her parents Diana Worby, an English professor

Empire State College Empire State College (SUNY Empire or ESC) is a public university headquartered in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Empire State College is a multi-site institution offering associate, ...

, and Louis Worby, owner of a hardware manufacturing firm. She began to learn to play the piano at five years old. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in piano performance from the

Crane School of Music The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Crane consists of approximately 630 undergraduate and 30 graduate students and a faculty o ...

at the State University of New York at Potsdam and began graduate work in musicology, at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

and

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

. Spurred to further her training as a conductor, Worby directly appealed to Jacques-Louis Monod. Though he insisted that there would never be a woman on an orchestra podium, Monod provided weekly private lessons to Worby from 1976 to 1981. When she completed this training, she turned to Max Rudolf and Otto Werner-Mueller for additional study.

Career

After working as a Conducting Assistant for the Spokane Symphony for two years, she became the Assistant Conductor for Youth Concerts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1984 to 1987 and excitedly accepted her childhood idol's former position, Music Director of Carnegie Hall's

Young People's Concerts The Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts of classical music in the world. Genesis They began in 1924 under the direction of "Uncle" Ernest Schelling. Earlier Family Matinees had ...

, which she led for twelve years In 1986, she applied for the position of Music Director and Conductor of the

Wheeling Symphony Orchestra The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra is a regional orchestra based in Wheeling, West Virginia. Since its founding in 1929, the orchestra has performed at the historic Capitol Music Hall. Temporary Relocation In May 2007, the "Capitol" closed its door ...

. She married Governor Gaston Caperton in May 1990. While continuing to serve full-time at both the Wheeling Symphony and Carnegie Hall, Worby took on several additional projects as First Lady of West Virginia. She created and hosted the nationally acclaimed Arts and Letters Series, an admission-free, live series, broadcast on public television which presented Carl Sagan,

Tom Wicker Thomas Grey Wicker (June 18, 1926 – November 25, 2011) was an American journalist. He was a political reporter and columnist for ''The New York Times''. Background and education Wicker was born in Hamlet, North Carolina. He was a graduate ...

, Jesse Jackson,

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for '' The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingt ...

Taylor Branch Taylor Branch (born January 14, 1947) is an American author and historian who wrote a Pulitzer Prize winning trilogy chronicling the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and much of the history of the American civil rights movement. The final volume o ...

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

, The American Boy Choir and dozens of other notable individuals. She also led the statewide campaign, "Thanks A Million", to raise one million dollars to eradicate illiteracy and created The Governor's School for the Arts in perpetuity. Worby returned to California and worked as music director of the Pasadena POPS from 2000 to 2010, where she continued her work as a dedicated orchestra builder. Her leadership increased the number of annual concerts and audience attendance while simultaneously securing ongoing funding to institute free-to-the-public concerts and expand outreach programs to underserved communities. She enjoys a musical relationship and personal friendship with American soprano

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

. They appear together at music festivals and concert halls throughout the world. At Jessye Norman's request, Worby conducted the

China Philharmonic Orchestra The China Philharmonic Orchestra ( 中国爱乐乐团; abbreviated CPO) is an orchestra founded in Beijing, China, on May 25, 2000, based on the previous "China Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra". It is a division of the State Administration of Ra ...

in Beijing and the

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra () is a symphony orchestra in Shanghai, China. Its music director is Yu Long. Founded in 1879, the SSO is the oldest Chinese symphony orchestra. Originally, it was known as the Shanghai Public Band, expanding in 1 ...

in 2006 and served on the Honorary Committee of Carnegie Hall's HONOR! Festival in 2009 as Artistic Advisor and guest panelist.

MUSE/IQUE

Founding

In 2011, Rachael Worby and a group of community leaders founded MUSE/IQUE, a counter-conventional orchestra in Pasadena.

Accolades and television credits

Rachael Worby received a presidential appointment to the National Council of the Arts, on which she served for four years. In 1990, she was nominated for an ACE Award for two young peoples' orchestra programs she created, narrated and conducted for the Disney Channel. She has also picked up awards, including the Spirit of Achievement from Albert Einstein College, the Women of Excellence award from the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, the degree Doctor of Humanities '' honoris causa'' from

Marshall University Marshall University is a public research university in Huntington, West Virginia. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. The university is currently composed of nine colleges: ...

, the degree of Doctor of Letters '' honoris causa'' and the Presidential Medal of Honor for her consummate lifetime achievements both from Claremont University. Worby's television credits include: * National Coverage: 2001/2002/2005

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, Bayer Advanced Garden - "Cocktail Garden Party" Float * National Coverage: 2004

, Odd Fellows and Rebekahs -"Songs of Spring" Float * National Coverage: Interview with

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American retired network television journalist and author. He first served as the co-anchor of ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anchor and managing editor of '' ...

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

, "Is the California Dream Still Alive?" *

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

, ''

The Charlie Rose Show ''Charlie Rose'' (also known as ''The Charlie Rose Show'') is an American television interview and talk show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show was syndicated on PBS from 1991 until 2017 and is owned ...

'' * ABC, ''Day One'' *

, ''Carnegie Hall at 100: A Place of Dreams'' * Disney Channel, ''Disney's Young Person's Guide to Music: A Toon for a Toon''; ''The Best Band in the Land''

References

External links

Rachael Worby - Home PageMUSE/IQUE - Home PageRachael Worby - BLOG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worby, Rachael Women conductors (music) American music educators American women music educators People from Nyack, New York Musicians from Wheeling, West Virginia First Ladies and Gentlemen of West Virginia Living people 1950 births Musicians from Pasadena, California Musicians from New York (state) Indiana University alumni Crane School of Music alumni Caperton family of Virginia and West Virginia Educators from New York (state) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American women