Juliane Gallant looks back on her time as Resident Conductor at the Calgary Phil while looking ahead to a multi-genre future
By Charlotte Lilley Photo HarderLee Photography
The end of the Calgary Phil’s 2025/2026 Season also marks the conclusion of Juliane Gallant’s three-year term as the Orchestra’s Resident Conductor. Over those three years, Gallant has led the Phil in sold-out concerts, worked with Canadian pop music icons, made debut performances with orchestras across Canada and beyond, and uncovered a love of Pops conducting.
Originally from New Brunswick, and with a musical background as a collaborative pianist, répétiteur, and vocal coach, Gallant’s first foray into conducting was in opera. In 2020, she was selected for the inaugural cohort of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership program, and, in 2021, made her Royal Opera House debut with Pegasus Opera Company’s Mami Wata. In the 2023/2024 Season she joined the Calgary Phil as Resident Conductor, a position supported by the Mary Rosza de Coquet Endowed Chair.
Aside from the administrative work of programming and preparing repertoire, Gallant describes the role of Resident Conductor as being made up of two halves. The first, more visible of those sees Gallant on the podium, often at the Phil’s Pops and Symphony Sundays for Kids shows. Less visibly, Gallant is also the cover conductor for the Phil’s Classics series. “Even the weeks where you’re not seeing me on the podium, I’m always there,” she explains. “I’m in the hall, I’m listening for balance, I’ve learned the scores. I’m very present.”
Heading into her third season with the Calgary Phil, Gallant was also given the title of Artistic Advisor, Pops, a role which she says allows her to be “more hands-on” in developing concert programs and planning for future seasons, and which aligns well with her newly-discovered interest in Pops conducting. “I literally discovered Pops conducting through this job,” she shares. “I did not know that that was the way my career was going to go, but it’s really shown me possibilities in the industry that I wasn’t aware of.”
Among these is the breadth of genres that Pops conducting engages with: “There’s just this incredible world of things that you can do, like musical theatre, country music, EDM, film scores — it’s such a broad range of repertoire.”
This diversity appeals to Gallant not only as a musician, but also as a music lover. “I do listen to some classical music, but I mostly listen to non-classical music at home, and it always kind of felt like the music lover in me lives in non-classical music,” she shares. “I’d never considered that I could do it as a career. It never crossed my mind that I could go and actually work in the field that really excites me.”
Gallant’s final concerts as Resident Conductor highlight the versatility of Pops. April’s two Taylor Family Foundation concerts with Tenille Townes feature the country music star performing her own songs with orchestral accompaniment at the Bella Concert Hall and Jack Singer, respectively, while May’s Broadway Hits: Hamilton, Rent + More showcases work by Lin Manuel Miranda, Jonathan Larson, Stephen Sondheim, and others.
Despite their non-classical repertoire, for Gallant both concerts connect to her background in opera. “I approach any kind of concert like that in the way I would approach classical music,” she explains. “I started my career in opera, so I’m used to working with vocalists.”
“I’ve learned so much from Puccini that I can put in Sondheim.”
Reflecting on the highlights of her time with the Phil, it’s also the Pops concerts which come to mind. Conducting this past December’s Steven Page + the Calgary Phil: A Holiday Special being one.
“That was a really, really special experience, to be able to conduct If I Had a Million Dollars,” she says. “When I was growing up, the Barenaked Ladies were on the radio all the time, so there’s always this moment where I’m on the podium, and I’m like, this is the literal sound of being in the car with my parents.”
Getting to conduct her first live-to-picture film concert with 2025’s The Princess Bride in Concert was also memorable: “I love anything that has an excuse for people to dress up, so seeing pictures of people in the lobby after The Princess Bride who have really shown up with the enthusiasm for the film, I love all of that.”
Thinking ahead to what’s next for her career, Gallant is excited to take on more guest conducting roles. Building on recent performances with the Boston Pops, Newfoundland Symphony, and New Brunswick Symphony, she’s looking forward to upcoming performances with National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and the Regina Symphony. Gallant also recently signed with Dean Artist Management; a career move that will continue to open new doors.
Ultimately, as her time as Resident Conductor comes to an end and she looks towards new opportunities, Gallant says she is “hopeful and excited.”
Learn more about Juliane
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