Conducting at Carnegie Hall in 2010
You have received many honours and awards for your achievements in music. You are also recognised as the first (and perhaps still the only) woman conductor from the Middle East. Why do you think there are so few in your field? What kind of obstacles did you have to overcome to attain this position? I am humbled and privileged to be recognized for my passion for this art and my desire to pursue excellence in all its endeavours. It is truly an honour to be the first woman conductor from the
Middle East, who was reared in her native Lebanon and educated in her adopted land, the United States of America. The opportunities I was granted in this country allowed me to follow my dream and realize my goals with hard work and determination. My parents’ unwavering support, my professors’ encouragement and guidance, and my colleagues’ healthy competition, propelled me into a path that was rarely pursued by a woman, even in the western world. As a woman conductor, it does take the balancing act of a commanding presence and yet a