The Richmond Symphony has announced that Valentina Peleggi’s contract has been extended through 2027-28.

Peleggi, who has conducted ensembles in Europe and at Chicago, Dallas, Baltimore, and Kansas City, took over the position with the ensemble during the 2020-21 season and per Lacey Huszcza, the Executive Director of the organization, she “has transformed the orchestra’s artistic profile, has re-energized our concert-going experience, and has attracted scores of new audiences with her creative and provocative programming.”

Among her major initiatives has been the launch of the composer-in-residence program featuring Damien Geter and the championing of Virginia stories and voices.

In addition to her experience with symphony orchestras, Peleggi has also conducted at such opera houses as the English National Opera, Opéra de Lyon, and Teatro Verdi Trieste. She is set to make her Seattle Opera debut in 2024.

““I am incredibly excited to continue our journey with my beloved Richmond Symphony and Richmond Symphony Chorus,” said Peleggi. “It is impressive and empowering to see how much we have been able to build in such a short period of time, more than half of which was during COVID. This is thanks to a wonderful sense of team within the artistic groups, the management, the Board and the city overall that really makes Richmond a very, very special place. I value and treasure it immensely. The artistic level of the orchestra, their passion, their commitment, and their will to grow is a joy to witness and a huge responsibility that I accept with even more enthusiasm.”