Jeannette Sorrell

Grammy-winning conductor Jeannette Sorrell is recognized internationally as one of today’s most compelling interpreters of Baroque and Classical repertoire. She is the subject of the 2019 documentary Playing with Fire: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting by Oscar-winning director Allan Miller.

Bridging the period-instrument and symphonic worlds from a young age, Sorrell studied conducting at the Aspen and the Tanglewood music festivals under Leonard Bernstein and Roger Norrington, and harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. She won First Prize in the Spivey International Harpsichord Competition, competing against over 70 harpsichordists from four continents.

Sorrell made her New York Philharmonic debut in 2021 and Philadelphia Orchestra debut in 2022, both to rave reviews. She has repeatedly conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, and New World Symphony, and she has also led the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (J.S. Bach’s St John Passion), the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, and Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco, among others. This spring she also makes her debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (Spain).

As founder and conductor of Apollo’s Fire, she has led the renowned ensemble at London’s BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall, and many international venues. Sorrell and Apollo’s Fire have released 30 commercial CDs, including 11 bestsellers on the Billboard classical chart and a 2019 Grammy winner. Her CD recordings of J.S. Bach’s St John Passion and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons have been chosen as best in the field by the London Sunday Times (2020 and 2021). Her Monteverdi Vespers recording was chosen by BBC Music Magazine as one of “30 Must-Have Recordings for Our Lifetime” (September 2022). With over 12 million views of her YouTube videos, Sorrell has attracted national attention and awards for creative programming, using contextual and dramatic elements.