The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is dedicated to maintaining live orchestral music and a full-scale symphonic orchestra as an integral part of the cultural and educational life of the New Orleans area, the entire state of Louisiana, and the Gulf South region. Formed in 1991, the LPO is the oldest full-time musician-governed and collaboratively-operated orchestra in the United States.

The LPO offers a full 36-week season with more than 120 performances, including classics, light classics, pops, education, family, park, and community engagement concerts in New Orleans and across multi-parish areas. In addition, The LPO collaborates with and provides orchestral support for other cultural and performing arts organizations, including the New Orleans Opera Association, New Orleans Vocal Arts Chorale, New Orleans Ballet Association, Delta Festival Ballet, Musical Arts Society of New Orleans, and the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Daniela Candillari is the principal conductor at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Celebrated for her dynamic artistry and leadership, she is equally at home premiering bold new works and interpreting classical repertoire. Her international career spans major operatic and symphonic stages, where she is praised for performances that combine “confidence and apparently inexhaustible verve” (The New York Times) with “incisive leadership” (The Wall Street Journal). Candillari’s exciting 2025–2026 season includes guest engagements with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, London Philharmonic, Liverpool Philharmonic, Cabrillo Festival, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. She will also return to the Juilliard School, Louisiana Philharmonic, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), and others. 

In previous seasons, Candillari made her New York Philharmonic debut in their inaugural season inside the new David Geffen Hall, working with cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Elgar’s Cello Concerto, for which she was praised for her “enthusiastic, energetic yet sensitive direction” and “perfect control over the orchestra” (Broadway World). She made her Carnegie Hall Presents debut leading the American Composers Orchestra in a program of premieres. Other engagements from previous seasons include debuts with the Metropolitan Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin, and productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Minnesota Opera, Detroit Opera, Orchestre Métropolitain (Montreal), and the Classical Tahoe festival. A passionate educator, she has led opera productions at the Juilliard School and concerts at Manhattan School of Music. She also led the made-for-film world premiere of Clint Borzoni’s The Copper Queen with Arizona Opera, released in 2021 and later screened by Opera Philadelphia in 2022, as well as the film of Ana Sokolović’s Svadba with Boston Lyric Opera and Opera Philadelphia that was released in early 2022 and won Opera America’s 2023 Award for Digital Excellence in Opera. 

As a composer, Candillari has been commissioned by established artists, including instrumentalists from the Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh Symphonies, as well as the three resident orchestras of Lincoln Center: the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the New York City Ballet. She was principal opera conductor with Music Academy of the West from 2022–2024 and continues to be a frequent guest conductor. She has recently participated in master classes and discussions at DePaul University, Chicago Humanities Festival, and Valissima Institute. 

Daniela Candillari grew up in Serbia and Slovenia. The artist holds a doctorate in musicology from the Universität für Musik in Vienna, a master of music in jazz studies from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and a master of music and bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Universität für Musik in Graz. A Fulbright Scholarship recipient, she was also awarded a TED Fellowship. 

The sounds that flow from Honduras-born Oscar Rossignoli when he sits down at the piano reflect the path he has taken, starting at age six in his church’s worship band. He attended high school at the National Conservatory of Music in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, where he began his classical training, while at the same time being captivated by the fearless improvisations of Chucho Valdés, Arturo Sandoval, and Michel Camilo. During the day Rossignoli devoted untold hours to his classical studies; at night, with fellow students, he experimented with Afro-Latin jazz improvisation. Sparked by the swinging, blues-inflected playing of the great Oscar Peterson, he embarked on a deep exploration of American jazz piano. At the same time, he began adding improvisational touches to the suites of Chopin and Debussy, blending the harmonic flavors of European classics with his own compositions. Upon completion of his studies at the conservatory, Rossignoli was awarded a scholarship in piano performance at Louisiana State University. “While I came here interested in studying classical and jazz,” Rossignoli says, “New Orleans showed me a world of possibilities in many genres and how they can all blend together. This city is loaded with world-class musicians, so it wasn’t long before I found a group of friends with the same passion, and I got to play with amazing musicians like Brian Blade, Herlin Riley, Jason Marsalis, Nicholas Payton, John Boutté, Donald Harrison, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Victor Goines, Joe Dyson, Bill Summers, the Masakowski family, and so many others.” In short order, Rossignoli’s calendar was full, with musicians calling on him to lend his exquisite touch to modern jazz, traditional New Orleans jazz, funk, bebop, gospel, and more. 

Geovane Paiva Santos is an Afro-Brazilian guitarist, vocalist, composer, researcher, and educator whose decade of professional work in New Orleans integrates musical performance, scholarly inquiry, arts education, and community engagement. Originally from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Santos has been recognized by OffBeat magazine as New Orleans’s “Best Brazilian Jazz Guitarist” and received the 2017 Louis Armstrong Foundation Jazz Composer Award through ASCAP and the University of New Orleans. Santos holds an MA in jazz studies from the University of New Orleans and is currently pursuing a PhD in Latin American studies at Tulane University, where his research and artistic practice center on memory, heritage, equity, and cultural relevance. His creative and academic work explores the nuances of race, transculturation, cultural appropriation, and processes of musical narrativization, positioning Brazilian musical traditions in dialogue with the cultural landscape of US mass media.

Alvin Jackson is a veteran, cultural historian, and dedicated community advocate based in New Orleans. After serving six years in the US Air Force in Germany, he pursued studies in political science, history, and Spanish at Southern University of New Orleans. Jackson went on to hold key civic roles throughout his career, including Director of Manpower and Economic Development under Mayor Moon Landrieu, Administrative Analyst under Mayor Ernest “Dutch” Morial, and Special Projects Consultant for the State of Louisiana under Governor David Treen.  A lifelong volunteer, Jackson has contributed to the Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Council and served as a past lecturer of history and culture with the People’s Program for Senior Citizens.  His passion for cultural preservation led to his role as research curator for the Local 496 Negro Musicians Union (1995-2000).  In 2000, Jackson founded The Historic Treme Collection and Treme’s Petit Jazz Museum, which highlight the African and Caribbean roots of jazz and its birthplace in New Orleans’s historic Tremé neighborhood. Jackson has spent decades studying New Orleans music history and uses the museum to display his extensive personal collection of archival photographs, instruments, and memorabilia. Jackson is a founding member of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club. 

OperaCréole was founded in 2011 by the mother-and-daughter team of Givonna Joseph and Aria Mason and is dedicated to researching and performing lost or rarely presented works by composers of African descent. This year marks their 15th anniversary! This award-winning nonprofit specializes in works by 19th-century New Orleans free composers of color and works that promote Louisiana’s Creole language and culture. OperaCréole’s groundbreaking work includes the 2017 production of the lost opera La Flamenca (1903), by Lucien Lambert, and the 2025 tri-city premiere and production of Edmond Dédé’s grand opera, Morgiane. Their recent recording of Morgiane, in partnership with Washington, DC-based Opera Lafayette, is forthcoming. Most recently, OperaCréole has been featured in a Cash App Communities commercial. In addition to mounting its own productions, OperaCréole regularly performs in collaboration with local cultural institutions and at regional festivals and conferences. The ensemble presents historically themed concerts, educational presentations, and speaking engagements. Since 2011, OperaCréole has received numerous awards for contributions to the operatic sphere. In 2017, cofounders Givonna Joseph and Aria Mason were named among Southern Living’s Southerners of the Year.

Jazz clarinetist Doreen Ketchens has been nicknamed Lady Louie, Miss Satchmo, and the Female Louis Armstrong. Ketchens started playing clarinet in 5th grade at Joseph Craig Elementary school.  She attended Delgado Community College, Loyola University, and Southern University New Orleans, receiving scholarships along the way to study with performers such as Henry Larsen at the Hartt School of Music. Known and loved as a French Quarter busker for the last several decades, Ketchens has performed at music festivals and in concert halls and embassies around the world.  She has successfully created her own style that blends her classical training with the soul of jazz. In addition to being a superb performer, Ketchens is also an outstanding educator. Her band, Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, has represented the city and the United States around the world, performing in multiple countries from Africa to Southeast Asia. Ketchens has performed for four US presidents: Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter. Doreen’s Jazz also boasts 30 volumes of CDs and 3 DVDs.