VALENTINA PAOLUCCI
CONDUCTOR
ABOUT
Outreach
Because of her upbringing in the El-Sistema based system, Valentina has always been very passionate about providing accessible music education to children of all backgrounds. She has taught violin for over 10 years and was the Assistant Conductor of the Greater Miami Youth Symphony from 2021- 2024 under the Music Director Huifang Chen. Valentina has also conducted other youth orchestras in South Florida, Panama City, Panama, and Zhengzhou, China. She has also conducted youth choirs in New York City, including in Carnegie Hall for the Juilliard Orchestra’s Mahler Symphony No.3 performance as well as the Juilliard Commencement Ceremony in David Geffen Hall to honor Gustavo Dudamel for his dedication to El-Sistema.
Valentina is also the co-founder of Through the Staff 501(c3), which has provided over 12,000 free private music lessons to young students from underprivileged backgrounds. Through the Staff aims to break down systemic barriers in music education while promoting equity and accessibility to marginalized communities by providing quality music instruction. Valentina continues to work towards making music education accessible to everyone regardless of background, to encourage a more diverse music industry.
To learn more about Through The Staff, click the link below.
Valentina Paolucci is an Argentinian-Italian rising conductor currently based in the United States. She has recently graduated from the Juilliard School with a Masters degree in Orchestral Conducting under a full scholarship, and was awarded the Robert Craft-Igor Stravinsky Award upon graduation.
Valentina is currently a Conducting Fellow of the Chelsea Symphony in New York City. Internationally, Valentina has conducted orchestras such as the Zhixing Symphony Orchestra (China), Brandenburger Symphoniker (Germany), Lüneburger Symphoniker (Germany), Orquesta de Cámara de Santiago (Chile), Athens Philharmonia Orchestra (Greece) along with orchestras in Finland, Bulgaria, and Panama. In the United States she has conducted orchestras such as the Richmond Symphony, Georgia Symphony Orchestra, Juilliard Orchestra, and has covered for the Chicago Sinfonietta, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Grand Rapids Symphony.
Valentina has recently attended festivals such as the Tanglewood Festival Conducting Seminar and the Cabrillo Contemporary Music Festival as a Fellow, and previously attended the National Orchestra Institute Conducting Academy, Medomak Conductors Retreat, and the Wintergreen Music Festival.
In March 2024, she was the 2nd place winner of the Athens 6th International Conducting Competition, and will be invited back to work with the Athens Philharmonic later this year. She has attended masterclasses and studied with conductors such as David Robertson, Johannes Schlaefli, Jorma Panula, Marin Alsop, Jim Ross, Windfuhr Ulrich, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Viktor Yampolsky, Kenneth Keisler, Mei-Ann Chen, Valentina Peleggi, and Carl St.Clair, among others.
As a violinist, Valentina toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra USA under the baton of Antonio Pappano, performing in venues such as the BBC Proms, Elbphilharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Concertgebouw, Edinburgh International Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, and Carnegie Hall. She has also played in side-by-side orchestras such as the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique with John Eliot Gardiner, and the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Valentina has also performed in solo and chamber settings, such as appearing as a guest soloist with the Palm Beach Symphony, and performing in both Caramoor and Bowdoin International Music Festivals. In 2018, Valentina won first place in the Palm Beach Symphony’s concerto competition that awarded her with an antique Italian violin that she still performs on today.