Defining moments and milestones
From her groundbreaking admission to Eastman's conducting program through her emergence as one of North America's most vital contemporary opera conductors, Nicole Paiement has built a career on artistic fearlessness and intellectual conviction. Her 2012 professional debut with The Dallas Opera conducting Peter Maxwell Davies's *The Lighthouse*—only the second time in the company's 54-year history a woman had taken the podium—marked the beginning of a prolific tenure that would establish her as an essential champion of new works and living composers. Today, as a sought-after guest conductor and artistic leader, she stands among the most consequential voices in contemporary opera, recognized internationally for her ability to navigate complex new scores with clarity and to create theatrical experiences that honor both compositional ambition and human drama.
Champion of New Music Award from the American Composers Forum (2016) for outstanding contributions to contemporary music; world premiere conductor of Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer's *Everest* at The Dallas Opera (2015)
University of Ottawa (Bachelor's degree in Piano); McGill University (Master's degree in Orchestral Conducting); Eastman School of Music (Doctorate in Conducting)
Recordings featuring Nicole Paiement in the Society index
Additional recordings will appear here as the catalog expands.