Praised by Opera News as a conductor who “squeezes every drop of excitement and pathos from the score,” Steven White is one of North America’s premiere conductors of both symphonic and operatic repertoire. Among the many orchestras Maestro White has conducted are the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestra, the Colorado Symphony, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Syracuse Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, the Florida Philharmonic, the Fort Worth Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the Madison Symphony Orchestra and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra for a CHANDOS recording of arias featuring his wife, soprano Elizabeth Futral.

Maestro White made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 2010, conducting performances of La traviata starring Angela Gheorghiu. Since then he has conducted a number of Metropolitan Opera performances of La traviata, with such stars as Natalie Dessay, Hei-Kyung Hong, Placido Domingo, Thomas Hampson, Dmitri Hvorostovksy and Matthew Polenzani. In the past two seasons he has returned to the Met to participate in critically fêted productions of The Rake’s Progress and Elektra.

Following an exciting last-minute appearance with Austin Opera in the spring of 2018, conducting Verdi’s La traviata, Maestro White begins the 2018-2019 season with the company for performances of Otello. He returns to Opera Omaha for their production of a new edition of Gounod’s Faust, and makes his debut with San Diego Opera conducting Rigoletto.

The previous season’s engagements included Tosca with Arizona Opera, Romeo et Juliette with Opera Birmingham, and he returns to the Metropolitan Opera to participate in their productions of The Merry Widow and Le nozze di Figaro. Operatic engagements for the 2016-2017 season included returns to several companies, including Arizona Opera for Rusalka, Opera Omaha for Così fan tutte, the Peabody Conservatory for Le nozze di Figaro and Opera Roanoke for Susannah. The previous season included performances of Don Giovanni at Arizona Opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia at Opera Omaha and Street Scene with the Peabody Conservatory. He also led the Omaha Symphony Orchestra in Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique and the Liszt E-flat Piano Concerto, featuring internationally hailed pianist Markus Groh.

Maestro White’s 2014-15 season included Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and Das Lied von der Erde at Kennesaw State University. He returned to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera Baltimore for Madama Butterfly, Arizona Opera for Eugene Onegin, and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Opera Birmingham for La bohème. He debuted with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Opera Columbus with La voix humaine and Pagliacci. With Opera Omaha he conducted Rigoletto.

In December 2013 Maestro White conducted the tribute to Martina Arroyo as part of the Kennedy Center Honors concert, broadcast nationally on CBS. Other highlights of that season include Tosca with Lyric Opera Baltimore and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Dialogues of the Carmelites with Peabody Conservatory, La traviata with Arizona Opera, Rigoletto with Opera Birmingham, Aida at Bob Jones University and Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 at Virginia Tech University. At Opera Roanoke he conducted a new production of Die Zauberflöte. He also led the Slovak State Philharmonic in concerts of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Festival Overture. With that same orchestra he collaborated with acclaimed trumpeter Paul Neebe in a recording of 21^st– century concertos.

In 2013 he made his debut with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in a tour-de-force gala concert at Tchaikovsky Hall with soprano Sarah Coburn. Other recent symphonic engagements include performances of the Strauss Four Last Songs with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the Naples Philharmonic, internationally televised concerts with Rolando Villazon and the Greek National Radio Symphony Orchestra at the United Nations and Alice Tully Hall, an all-Wagner concert with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Opera Birmingham, the Festival Finale Concert at Spoleto Festival USA, a concert with Angela Gheorghiu and the Canadian Opera Company orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, and numerous concert performances with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra and Opera Roanoke.

In addition to his work with the Metropolitan Opera, Maestro White’s extensive operatic engagements have included La traviata, Don Giovanni, Carmen and La bohème at New York City Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor at L’Opera de Montréal; Lucia di Lammermoor, La fille du regiment and I puritani with Vancouver Opera; La traviata at Opera Colorado; L’elisir d’amore with Pittsburgh Opera; Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Michigan Opera Theater; La traviata, Roméo et Juliette, I puritani, La sonnambula and L’assedio di Corinto with Baltimore Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera; Aida, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Merry Widow, Tosca and Don Pasquale at Arizona Opera; and La bohème, Carmen, Rigoletto, Tosca and Le nozze di Figaro with the Naples Philharmonic.

Other performances include Hänsel und Gretel at Kentucky Opera, Pagliacci and Tosca at Nashville Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Fort Worth Opera, Don Giovanni, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Macbeth and Lucia di Lammermoor at Syracuse Opera, Werther at Sarasota Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Wichita Grand Opera, Madama Butterfly with North Carolina Opera, L’elisir d’amore at Wolf Trap Opera, outdoor Gala Concerts with Madison Opera, and La traviata at Indiana University Opera Theater.

As former Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke, Maestro White conducted nearly all of that company’s productions from 1999 through 2010, including performances of Das Lied von der Erde, Der fliegende Holländer, Fidelio, Falstaff, Otello, Macbeth, Aida, Hänsel und Gretel and many others. He has also served as Principal Conductor for Opera Birmingham and as Associate Conductor and Chorus Master for Florida Grand Opera.

In May 2013 Maestro White received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Roanoke College.

Austin Opera – Otello

Fortunately, Austin Opera had Steven White on the podium to oversee the musical elements, which he did with a sure hand. Maestro White has one of the most elegant baton techniques to be seen anywhere and an exceptional understanding of Verdi’s music. He elicited extraordinarily fine playing from the musicians of the Austin Opera Orchestra – and from the excellent chorus – who seemed to enjoy giving him their best. The intonation in the double basses at the beginning of the final scene was as precise as I have ever heard it – no mean feat in this unusual piece of scoring. The offstage trumpets played superbly, with impeccable and thrilling precision. Most importantly, Maestro White gave his singers everything they needed to feel comfortable in their roles, shaping the music from beginning to end with detailed and beautiful phrasing.”

Paul E. Robinson, La Scena Musicale

Arizona Opera – Tosca

Conductor Steven White drew dramatic, veristic playing from the Arizona Opera Orchestra. His interpretation gave the singers the melodic accompaniment as well as the space needed to perform at their best…It was the best Tosca I had seen in quite a few years.”

Maria Nockin, Opera Today

Opera Omaha – Cosi fan tutte

The opera was conducted by Steven White, whose tempos were full of energy and life, teetering on the verge of tumult. White is amazing: he consistently demands and gets the absolute best playing from the orchestra.

Kevin Hanrahan, Opera News

Peabody Opera – Street Scene

Making the most of that score was the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, which maintained admirable technical polish and expressive force all night under the sensitive guidance of conductor Steven White.”

Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun

The Metropolitan Opera – La traviata

Steven White was in the pit the night I attended. He, too, is an American, and he was making his Met debut. He conducted La traviata with knowledge, sensitivity, and security.”
Jay Nordlinger, The New Criterion

Steven White made his Met debut as conductor of La traviata, one of four men dividing that task this season. He sounded like a veteran, pacing the opera effectively during most scenes and deftly accommodating the soprano during her indulgences.”
Steve Cohen, The Opera Critic

Opera Birmingham – La bohème

Not enough can be said about conductor Steven White and Alabama Symphony musicians in the pit. They simply clicked all evening, propelling the action with depth, balance and color.”

Michael Huebner, artsBHAM

Arizona Opera – Eugene Onegin

In the pit, Steven White’s coordination with the stage proved admirable, his concept of structure and tempi convincing.”
David Shengold, Opera News Online

Charleston Symphony – Strauss & Mahler

Conductor Steven White appealed to the symphony players’ operatic instincts, leading the musicians up and down Strauss’ lush Bavarian terrain with purpose and a certain appreciation for the wholeness of these four songs.”
Adam Parker, The Post & Courier

Lyric Opera Baltimore – Madama Butterfly

…the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a welcome presence in the pit, digging into the riches of Puccini’s prismatic score under the impassioned conducting of Steven White. He gives the most heart-stirring passages in the opera wonderfully spacious treatment.”
Tim Smith, The Baltimore Sun

Opera Birmingham – Rigoletto

“But it was conductor Steven White who was largely responsible for making this performance work. Once Opera Birmingham’s principal conductor, White returned to the pit to an Alabama Symphony that was prepared, precise and expressive at every turn. A better liaison between orchestra and on-stage action would be hard to find. The smallish stage and pit helped to bring that about, but White exercised as much give-and-take as a chamber musician, all the while moving the plot along with impeccable timing.”
Michael Huebner, Alabama.com

 

Opera Roanoke – Wagner Highlights Concert

White consistently gets great results from the RSO, and Saturday night was no exception. The overture to “Die Meistersinger” was thrilling: full-bodied, noble, magnificent. The tremendous crescendo to the finish was breath taking and evoked immediate yells of approval.”
Seth Williamson, The Roanoke Times

Nashville Opera – Tosca

Steven White smoothly conducts the stellar players from Nashville Symphony in Puccini’s poetic score.”
Evans Donnell, The Tennessean

Fort Worth Opera – Lucia di Lammermoor

Steven White’s passionate pacing squeezed every drop of excitement and pathos from the score.”
Opera News

Vancouver Opera – Lucia di Lammermoor

Conductor Steven White elicited a warm, rich sound from the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, at times giving a performance of white-heat intensity, particularly in the sextet and final scene.”
The Review

Michigan Opera Theatre – Die Entführung aus dem Serail

Under the baton of conductor Steven White, the orchestra sounded appropriately light, lively and passionate.”
Opera News

Baltimore Opera – L’assedio di Corinto

Steven White conducted exceptionally well: Rossini created some wonderful music here, mostly dark but occasionally triumphant, and White paced it to perfection and let the singers carry the day, as they should in bel canto.”
The Washington Post

Steven White, who coaxed mostly smooth playing from the orchestra, conducted with a sure sense of melodic contour and rhythmic flexibility. He also prepared the edition of the score, borrowing a little from Maometto II, which was the precursor to The Siege of Corinth, and an aria for Futral from a much earlier Rossini opera. By and large, the result was a musically cohesive version of an opera that deserves to be better known – and to receive the benefit of more theatrical fire.”
The Baltimore Sun

New York City Opera – La bohème

The always-reliable City Opera orchestra played their hearts out in this score, which they do on a regular basis. I was very appreciative of conductor Steven White’s decision to let this music breathe. It was the undercurrent that made Musetta’s waltz (and its swelling reprise) so moving. Rather than treat this music like a cliche, Maestro White played it as if we were hearing it for the first time.”
New York Sun

Baltimore Opera – La sonnambula

White kept stage and pit in sync and had the orchestra playing with a stylish touch and applied telling fire to the most dramatic moments of the score.”
Opera News

The orchestra played firmly for Steven White, whose assured conducting revealed obvious affection for Bellini’s score.”
The Baltimore Sun

Thankfully, conductor Steven White kept everything on track, continually eliciting colorful music and artistry.”
The Washington Post

Baltimore Opera – I puritani

So it was during Saturday night’s opener of the Baltimore production, thanks in large measure to the starry efforts of soprano Elizabeth Futral and tenor Gregory Kunde in the lead roles, and the uncommonly sensitive guidance of conductor Steven Whiteƒ. Except for a sadly wayward horn soloist, the orchestra was a full-fledged partner in the performance, which White shaped with an incisive appreciation for drama-enhancing nuance and rhythmic flexibility. Too bad he had to sanction some time-saving cuts in the score. This was one night when I would have gladly heard every note.”
The Baltimore Sun

Wolf Trap Opera – L’elisir d’amore

On July 28, Steven White conducted a snappy performance that didn’t slight the score’s sweet moments or miss opportunities to apply some gentle rubato.”
Opera News Online

On Wednesday night, Steven White, who will lead Baltimore Opera’s performances of Bellini’s I Puritani in November, conducted a snappy performance that didn’t slight the score’s sweet moments.”
The Baltimore Sun

Sarasota Opera – Werther

Steven White led a performance that confirmed impressions of Sarasota’s orchestra as an excellent pit band and deftly balanced Massenet’s delicate orchestra textures against his stormier outbursts.”
Financial Times

The orchestra, conducted by Steven White, gave superb support throughout the evening.”
Sarasota Arts & Living

As conducted by Steven White, the opera moved smoothly from the expository first act through to an emotionally charged final death scene…the ensuing result in this Sarasota Opera production is gripping.”
Venice Goldolier Sun

Opera Colorado – La traviata

Conductor Steven White does a first-rate job in the pit, superbly pacing this production and animating the ensemble scenes. His skills at accompaniment are especially evident in this aria (Ah fors’ lui…Sempre libera), as he allows Futral to minutely shape the aria in her own way and makes sure the orchestra is right with her every step of the way.”
The Denver Post