Rising Stars: Meet Julie Desbordes of Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Desbordes.

Hi Julie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Multidimensional conductor and educator Dr. Julie Desbordes leads ensembles in the Americas, Asia, and her native France. Music director of the Philharmonia Orchestra at Arizona State University, where she teaches conducting, she is also music director of three additional ensembles in greater Phoenix: the Symphony of the Southwest, the Salt River Brass, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestras.
Born in Limoges, she started music at age 7 in her native France, where she first learned the cornet. Later on, she started conducting at age 17.

Prior to arriving in Arizona, Dr. Desbordes conducted community and youth orchestras in New York City, among them, the Turtle Bay Youth Orchestra, the Queer Urban Orchestra, and the Chelsea Symphony. With those ensembles, she presented innovative programs that attracted large, enthusiastic audiences. In between her New York commitments, she appeared as a guest conductor with orchestras in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Venezuela, and Cuba.

Active in the El Sistema movement, she was a featured cast member in the documentary film, Crescendo! The Power of Music, directed by Jamie Bernstein, and she is a frequent guest conductor and teaching artist for youth ensembles internationally. Moreover, since 2019, she has regularly led workshops for educators at the Weill Music Institute of Carnegie Hall, applying the Institute’s Great Music Teaching Framework.

Dr. Desbordes holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, where she studied under Marin Alsop. She previously earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in conducting and trumpet performance from conservatoires in France and Canada.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road was not always smooth for Julie as a young female conductor, but surely always worth it, especially when supported by incredible mentors such as Gustav Meier and Marin Alsop.
Dr. Desbordes enjoyed learning how to become more and more powerful and inspring on and off the podium, as well as developing her craft on an international level.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I conduct four ensembles in the Valley.
The ASU Philharmonia orchestra: an ensemble of performance and non-performance majors who come together to make beautiful music.
The Philharmonic Orchestra of the PYSO (Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestras): a youth orchestra of young talents, high-school age and level.
The Salt River Brass: a brass band made of extremely inspiring and talented brass and percussion players in the Valley, some professional, some not.
And my newest appointment at the Symphony of the Southwest: a beautiful symphonic orchestra made of professional, non-professional and ASU graduate student musicians. I am proud to be the first female conductor of the Symphony of the Southwest, and am looking forward to our performances at the beautiful Ikeda Theater inside the Mesa Arts Center.
I enjoy the diversity of all ensembles as well as the depth of programming I am able to achieve with them.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up in France in a city called Limoges. I was very shy and found music was helping me find my voice, communicate with others in the world, and create life-long friendships. I started playing music when I was 7 years old.

Pricing:

• General tickets are $37
• Tickets for groups of 50 or more are $29
• Student discount using promo code “STUDENT” are $12
• VIP membership (season tickets) from $90 to $325 per season

Contact Info:

• Website: https://symphonyofthesouthwest.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/symphonyofthesouthwest/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SSWAZ

Image Credits
Photo credits: Joe Burgstaller, Tim Tumble.