Keri-Lynn Wilson is a Canadian operatic and symphonic conductor of Ukrainian descent whose career spans over three decades on the world’s most prestigious musical stages. She is widely recognized as the founder of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra and the music director of the National Ensemble of Soloists Kyiv Camerata.
Keri-Lynn Wilson was born on May 17, 1967, in Milwaukee, USA, into a family of musicians and was raised in Winnipeg, Canada. From a young age, she mastered the flute, piano, and violin.
Wilson’s professional development took place at The Juilliard School in New York, where she studied for nine years. Under the guidance of Julius Baker, she earned a Master’s degree in flute performance, followed by a Master’s in conducting under the mentorship of Otto-Werner Mueller. While still a student, she served as an assistant to the legendary conductor Claudio Abbado at the Salzburg Festival.
At the age of 23, Wilson made her debut with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. From 1994 to 1998, she held the position of Associate Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, after which she began her extensive international career.
Wilson became the first woman to conduct opera performances at several iconic venues, including:
Throughout her career, she has collaborated with leading theaters and orchestras, such as the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Paris National Opera, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
In 2022, in response to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Keri-Lynn Wilson initiated the creation of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO). The project was realized with the support of the Metropolitan Opera, the Polish National Opera, and the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. The ensemble, uniting Ukrainian musicians from various cities in Ukraine and across Europe, has conducted major world tours throughout Europe and the United States.
Key achievements in recent years:
Since 2003, Keri-Lynn Wilson has been married to Peter Gelb, the General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. The conductor is multilingual, speaking French, Italian, German, and Russian, and is actively studying the Ukrainian language.
