Stephanie Childress began her tenure this season as principal guest conductor of the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and National Orchestra of Catalonia, and returned to the Cleveland Orchestra, New World Symphony, Utah Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, and Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier. She also debuted with the Royal Philharmonic, Hallé, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and MDR Symphony Leipzig. From 2021 to 2023, she was assistant conductor of the St. Louis Symphony under Stéphane Denève, during which time she led multiple subscription concerts. Last season saw her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and Minnesota Orchestra. She is currently the associate conductor of the Sun Valley Music Festival and artistic director of the Sun Valley Music Festival Institute.

The Franco-British conductor enjoys a close relationship with the French cultural scene, following her second-prize win at the 2020 inaugural La Maestra conducting competition. Since then, she has conducted Orchestre de Paris, Paris Mozart Orchestra, and Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. In September 2023, after being one of the first conducting fellows of l’Académie de l’Opéra National de Paris, she made her debut at the Palais Garnier with l’Orchestre Pasdeloup for the ballet company’s opening gala. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut with this performance.

Blake Pouliot’s recent highlights include debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, San Diego Symphony, Houston Symphony, London Philharmonic, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This past season he made recital debuts at Carnegie Hall and La Jolla Music Society, and returned to the Seattle Chamber Music Society. Between 2020–21, he was soloist in residence with the Orchestre Métropolitain with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, which led to his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2022.

Since his orchestral debut at age 11, Pouliot has also performed with the Aspen Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Toronto Symphony, and Seattle Symphony. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in July 2019 and performs on a 1729 Guarneri del Gesù on generous loan from an anonymous donor. He released his debut album, of 20th century French music, on Analekta Records in 2019, receiving five stars from BBC Music Magazine and a 2019 Juno Award nomination for Best Classical Album.