Shira Samuels-Shragg

American conductor Shira Samuels-Shragg is dedicated to creating vibrant and inclusive orchestral experiences that connect musicians and audiences alike. She is Fellow Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, where her subscription debut was praised for bringing “shape, purpose, and fastidious detailing of dynamic contrasts and nuances” to the podium (Dallas Morning News).

The 2026/27 season sees Shira making debuts with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, Orchestra Haydn and Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, alongside her continuing work with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra.

A recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award, Shira was a semi-finalist in the 2026 Mahler Competition, where she received the Ukrainian Youth Orchestra Award, and in 2025 was awarded the prestigious Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival.

Recent highlights include debuts with the North Carolina Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México, Chattanooga Symphony and Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, as well as her subscription debut with the Spokane Symphony, where she previously served as Assistant Conductor. She has also appeared as a guest conductor with ensembles including the Corpus Christi Symphony, Irving Symphony and South Bend Symphony, and has worked as cover conductor with the St. Louis Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and New York Philharmonic.

Deeply committed to fostering a more diverse and inclusive orchestral landscape, Shira was selected for The Dallas Opera’s 2024 Hart Institute for Women Conductors. Equally passionate about music education and community engagement, she has led education concerts, sensory-friendly performances and family programmes reaching more than 90,000 students and their families.

She is co-founder and former Music Director of the Plano Symphony’s Summer Youth Orchestra Camp and served as Assistant Conductor of the National Youth Orchestra USA in 2022, returning as Associate Conductor in 2024.

Shira holds a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from The Juilliard School, where she studied with David Robertson. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Music with a minor in German from Swarthmore College, where she studied conducting with Andrew Hauze and piano with Marcantonio Barone.