Dina Gilbert
Music Director & Conductor
French-Canadian conductor Dina Gilbert is passionate about communicating with audiences of all ages to broaden their appreciation of orchestral music through innovative collaborations. This commitment, as well as Dina Gilbert’s extensive knowledge of repertoire, has shaped her career and the orchestras she has worked with. Regularly invited to conduct in Canada and overseas, she attracts critical acclaim for her energy, presence on the podium, and expressive music-making.
Dina Gilbert is currently Principal Conductor of the Grands Ballets Canadiens and Music Director of the Kamloops Symphony where she is known for her contagious dynamism and her audacious programming. Over the years, Dina has conducted many major Canadian orchestras as well as orchestras in the United States, Colombia, Spain, France, and in Japan.
Her innate curiosity towards non-classical musical genres and willingness to democratize classical music has sparked collaborations with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestre national de Lyon in several Hip-Hop Symphonic programs featuring renowned artists I AM, MC Solaar, Youssoupha and Bigflo & Oli. She has also conducted the world premiere of the film The Red Violin with orchestra and soloist Lara St John and has conducted the North American premiere of film The Artist.
As the founder and artistic director of the Ensemble Arkea, a Montreal-based chamber orchestra, Dina premiered over thirty works from emerging Canadian composers. Committed to music education, she has reached thousands of children with her interactive and participative Conducting 101 workshops. From 2013 to 2016, Dina Gilbert was the assistant conductor of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Maestro Kent Nagano, also assisting notable guest conductors including Zubin Mehta and Sir Roger Norrington.
Highlights of recent engagements included debuts with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire, a tour with the Orchestre national de Metz as well as several concerts with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre symphonique de Québec. As the Principal Conductor of the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, she participated in tours in the United States, in Colombia and in Spain, and has premiered ballets by Peter Quanz (La Dame aux Camélias : music by Weber, Lili Boulanger, Louise Farrenc and Kaija Saariaho), Étienne Béchard (Carmen Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite), Garrett Smith (Beethoven’s Symphony n. 5), Jayne Smeulders (Prokofiev’s Cinderella) and Edward Clug (Orff’s Carmina Burana), in addition to conducting the Grands Ballets repertoire of the company.
The 2024-2025 season begins her tenure with the Walla Walla Symphony as their newly appointed Music Director & Conductor, and includes debuts with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, the Cape Symphony as well as concerts and recordings with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
Dina Gilbert earned her doctorate from the Université de Montréal and polished her skills in masterclasses with Kenneth Kiesler, Pinchas Zukerman, Neeme Järvi and the musicians from the Kritische Orchester in Berlin. Awarded the Opus Prize of "Découverte de l'année" in 2017, she has received support from the Canada Arts Council, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and from the Père-Lindsay Foundation.