San Jose Chamber Orchestra

Founder and music director of the San José Chamber Orchestra, Maestra Barbara Day Turner has led the prestigious ensemble since its inception in 1991. Being an ardent advocate for new music, she has premiered, up to date, over 180 new works just with the San José Chamber Orchestra alone. With her other hat as opera conductor, Maestra Day Turner has conducted most of the standard repertoire from the baroque to the contemporary including five world premieres of American operas. Named a 2012 Silicon Valley Arts Council “On Stage” Artist Laureate, she spent 15 seasons as Conductor and Music Administrator of the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre. And, as guest conductor, she has led symphonic and opera orchestras in the US, Germany and Mexico. Maestra was resident conductor at Opera San José for 18 seasons and serves as a judge for the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, on the advisory boards of San Diego’s OperaNeo, the Delphi Trio, and on the board of directors for the National Women’s Philharmonic Advocacy Association. She recently joined the faculty at Oregon’s Aquilon Music Festival’s opera program.