Nadège Foofat
Nadège Foofat is a conductor, violinist, violist, and advocate for innovation in thought, action, music and culture.
As a guest conductor, Nadège has worked with several notable American ensembles including the Nashville Symphony, Savannah Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus, and Children’s Choir, Spartanburg Philharmonic, South Bend Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the Lima Symphony Orchestra, in Canada with the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra, l'Orchestre Symphonique de l'Estuaire, Symphony New Brunswick, Symphony Nova Scotia and Vancouver Island Symphony, and in Germany with the Hamburg Philharmonic Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra.
A champion of equal representation for women in orchestral programming, Nadège's concerts have included works by Amy Beach, Christine Donkin, Vivian Fung, Jennifer Higdon, Mary Howe, Vítězslava Kaprálová, Missy Mazzoli, Florence Price, Joan Tower, and Gwyneth Walker. She is also a leading expert of the orchestral works of the early romantic French composer, Louise Farrenc.
As former Assistant Conductor to Kent Nagano at the Hamburg State Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany, she helped prepare and produce historical opera productions of Wozzeck, Lulu, Walküre, Madama Butterfly, Zauberflöte, and Stilles Meer, and new productions of Fidelio and Parsifal, as well as for the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra concerts at the Elbphilharmonie, including performances with Hamburg's renowned St. Michaelis Choir, for the International Musikfest Hamburg.
In 2014, Nadège served as Associate Conductor for the Naxos recording of Darius Milhaud's L'Orestie d'Eschyle, which was nominated for a 2015 GRAMMY® Award (Best Opera Recording). From 2009-2014, Nadège was the Founder and Music Director of the Esopus Chamber Orchestra, a twenty-five-member award-winning professional chamber orchestra based in the Hudson Valley, New York.
Nadège holds a Doctor of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the Université de Montréal, a Diplôme de perfectionnement in contemporary orchestral conducting from the Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana, (Switzerland) a Master of Music degree from the Yale University School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School in viola performance. Nadège enjoys collaborating as a violinist and violist in recital and chamber performances. As a violist, she has performed at notable venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Town Hall, the Banff Centre, and the Museum of Modern Art.
In 2018, Nadège was one of six conductors selected worldwide for the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview for her “experience, talent, leadership potential, and commitment to a career in service to American orchestras” by the League of American Orchestras.
Born in Canada, Nadège is also a citizen of the United Kingdom and United States. She is based out of Virginia, where she resides with her husband, composer Jonathan Newman, and their two children.