Music Director Dina Gilbert is a Canadian conductor passionate about educating audiences of all ages and broadening their appreciation of orchestral music through innovative collaborations. This commitment, as well as Dina Gilbert’s extensive repertoire – often highlighting Canadian and women composers – have shaped her career and the orchestras she has worked with over the years. Regularly invited to conduct in Canada and overseas, Dina Gilbert attracts critical acclaim for her energy, precision and versatility.
In addition to conducting the Kamloops Symphony, highlights of the 2022-2023 season include debuts with the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire and a tour with the Orchestre national de Metz in France and return invitations with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. As the Principal Conductor of the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, she will perform Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Prokofiev’s Cinderella.
Over the years, Dina has been invited by leading Canadian orchestras including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. She also conducted performances in Oregon and North-Carolina, in Colombia, Spain, France, and in Niigata and Tokyo.
Her innate curiosity towards non-classical musical genres and her willingness to democratize classical music have brought her to conduct the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestre national de Lyon in several Hip Hop Symphonic programs featuring renowned Hip hop artists I AM, MC Solaar, Youssoupha and Bigflo & Oli. Dina is also renowned for her expertise in conducting multi-disciplinary projects such as cine-concerts performances (The Red Violin, The Artist, E.T. the Extraterrestrial) as well as Video Game soundtracks (The Montreal Video Game Symphony, Outlast, The Amazing Spiderman 2).
As the Music Director of the Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire (2017-2022), Dina expanded the symphonic repertoire and has reached thousands of children with her interactive and participative Conducting 101 workshops. As the founder and artistic director of the Ensemble Arkea, a Montreal-based chamber orchestra, she premiered over thirty works from emerging Canadian composers. From 2013 to 2016, Dina Gilbert was the assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montreal and Maestro Kent Nagano, also assisting guest conductors including Zubin Mehta, Sir Roger Norrington and Lawrence Foster.
Dina Gilbert earned her doctorate from the Université de Montréal and she polished her skills in masterclasses with Kenneth Kiesler, Pinchas Zukerman, Neeme Järvi and the musicians from the Kritische Orchester in Berlin. Awarded the Opus Prize of "Découverte de l'année" in 2017, Dina Gilbert was also named as one of the “50 personnalités créant l’extraordinaire au Québec” in 2018 by the Urbania Magazine. She has also received support from the Canada Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and from the Père-Lindsay Foundation.