Next Stop Halifax for Conductor Holly Mathieson

After an extensive search, Dunedin-born Holly Mathieson, 38, will head to Halifax, Canada in January 2020 to begin working with the 37-piece Symphony Nova Scotia, Victoria Walton reports for HalifaxToday.

“Music’s been a part of my life since I was a little child,” Mathieson said. “When you start something at that age it really is part of the fabric of your life and who you are.”

Mathieson, who also has a PhD in Music Iconography, has already conducted two shows for Symphony NS as a guest conductor.

“I’ve done two concerts with the orchestra so far. One in the end of 2018 and one just a couple of months ago,” she said.

But the conductor is excited to have a more permanent role with the group.

“There’s something really special about taking up a music directorship with an orchestra where you actually get to build a relationship over a long period of time and build a repertoire together, and build a sound together and get to know each other as colleagues,” Mathieson said.

Originally studying piano, voice and composition, Mathieson began conducting in university and has now been guest conducting for nearly two decades. Her work has taken her across the world, including her most recent gig conducting Scotland’s Nevis Ensemble. She has also directed the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Original article by Victoria Walton, HalifaxToday, December 22, 2019.