The Long Arc

Matthew Wardell is a dynamic conductor who brings boundless energy and compelling storytelling to every performance. Based in Washington, DC, he is known for his ability to unlock passion in live performances and create deep emotional connections with audiences. Wardell’s commitment to programming—recognized in 2024 when he won the Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming from The American Prize—spans from unearthing hidden repertoire gems and championing overlooked composers to presenting bold new works alongside the masterpieces of the canon. His performances are marked by what audiences describe as “unabashed enthusiasm” and “youthful energy,” with patrons regularly noting that “he and the orchestra never cease to amaze.”

Currently in his 17th season as Music Director of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra—which composer Michael Daugherty called the “hardest working orchestra in Florida”—Wardell has established himself as a sought-after guest conductor with recent appearances leading the Jacksonville Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Pittsburgh, the Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, the New England Philharmonic, the Gainesville Orchestra, and the Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra. When Matthew was appointed Music Director of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, the Ocala Star Banner declared that “Wardell brings an impressive resume of musical and conducting training … Maybe more important than his musical credentials is Wardell’s youthful enthusiasm and unabashed zest … Wardell is not only a daring and dynamic choice as the Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s new conductor, but a smart one.”

On the podium, Maestro Wardell has conducted more than 520 works across 310 live performances. His repertoire encompasses core orchestral works from all periods, concerti for voice and nearly every instrument, extensive pops offerings, and film and multimedia works. He is particularly committed to the purposeful inclusion of underrepresented and living composers, having led world and United States premieres from composers such as Michael Daugherty, María de Pablos, Paul Richards, Stella Sung, and Jenni Brandon. Wardell has developed deep experience in live-to-film conducting, having led more than a dozen productions including upcoming performances of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Disney’s Aladdin in Concert.

From the opera pit, Wardell has led 19 staged productions of large-scale opera, musical theatre, and ballet works including La Boheme, Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin, Così fan tutte, Sunday in the Park with George, Carmina Burana, A Little Night Music, and Sweeney Todd. His ability to rise to any artistic challenge was dramatically demonstrated when he conducted two performances of Puccini’s Tosca with only one day’s notice. Critics hailed the performances as “first-rate” and “inspiring,” calling his last-minute substitution a “magnificent feat … when the stakes were high, Mr. Wardell came through brilliantly and proved his mettle.”

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Wardell holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (2022) and Master of Music (2010) from the University of Florida, where he studied with his mentor Dr. Raymond Chobaz, and a Bachelor of Music cum laude (2007) from the University of North Florida, where he worked under Charlotte Mabrey. He spent five summers at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians in Hancock, Maine, where he studied with renowned conducting teacher Michael Jinbo and was recognized as both an Osher and Quimby Family Foundation scholar. Wardell has participated in master classes with Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops and studied with conductor and composer Peter WesenAuer in Salzburg, Austria. 

Isabela Diaz is a 20-year-old violinist based in New York City and Miami who has been studying the violin since the age of six. In recent years, she has studied with Jose Guibert and Huifang Chen, and she is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance at the Juilliard School under the guidance of Ronald Copes and Stella Chen. Isabela has performed with distinguished ensembles including the Juilliard Orchestra. These experiences have given her the opportunity to perform under the baton of renowned conductors such as Yannick NézetSéguin, Michael Tilson Thomas, David Robertson, Louis Langrée, Stéphane Denève and James Judd, amongst others. She has earned recognition in several competitions, including the Sphinx Competition, Ocala Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, MMTA Concerto Competition, the Charleston International Concerto Competition, and the FSMTA State Violin Competition. As a soloist, Isabela has performed with the Alhambra Orchestra, the NWSA Symphony Orchestra, the Ocala Symphony Orchestra, and the Stamps Quartet, and has also appeared internationally in Spain, Portugal, and France. She has also had the privilege of working with distinguished violinists including Itzhak Perlman, Hilary Hahn, Ida Kavafian, Ana Chumachenco, Kerson Leong, Régis Pasquier and Roland Daugareil, further shaping her artistic development and musical voice.

Gala Flagello (b. 1994) is a composer and educator whose work is inspired by a passion for lyricism, rhythmic vitality, and fostering meaningful collaboration. Her music, described as “at times endearingly whimsical, at times ominous, but always moving” (Cleveland Classical), resonates with audiences through its emotional depth and dynamic expression. With over 150 performances of her music each year, Flagello’s collaborations with leading ensembles, artists, and institutions on national and international stages are impactful to audiences and performers alike.

Flagello’s 2025/26 season features premieres by the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Youth Symphony, ROCO, the United States Naval Academy Band, Thalea String Quartet, and Calypsus Brass. Composer residencies this season include Glacier Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Youth Symphony, United States Naval Academy Band, the 2025 SoundWaves Festival at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and Purdue University Fort Wayne. Upcoming collaborations include a new work for soprano and symphonic winds featuring vocalist Lindsay Kesselman, a saxophone quartet concerto for ~Nois, and a clarinet concerto for Julian Bliss.

Flagello’s works have been featured by prominent ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, United States “President’s Own” Marine Band, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra, Sante Fe Symphony Orchestra, DuPage Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Youth Symphony, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, and the Apollo Ensemble of Boston. She has collaborated with many notable conductors, including Earl Lee, Fouad Fakhouri, Timothy Muffitt, Arian Khaefi, Bruce Kiesling, and Na’Zir McFadden.

Flagello’s music has been programmed in seven countries and 39 states. Her pieces are featured at conferences around the world, including the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), Midwest Clinic, College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA), Thailand Tuba Euphonium Conference (ThaiTEC), and several state music educator conferences.

Flagello’s work frequently engages with topics such as environmental advocacy, mental health, and gender equity. The Bird-While, a concerto for Hub New Music and symphonic winds, is based on the environmental poetry of Michigan poet Keith Taylor, with each movement sonically exploring Michigan-specific flora and fauna. Other recent socially engaged projects include Embers, commissioned by Jarrett McCourt, and Love & Nature, commissioned by a consortium of 55 wind bands led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Flagello is a passionate educator and arts leader. She co-founded the nonprofit contemporary music festival Connecticut Summerfest which celebrated its 10th anniversary season in 2025. In her teaching, Flagello enthusiastically works with students to develop fledgling ideas into fully realized pieces, examine repertoire from Saint-Georges to Saariaho, and incorporate non-musical elements such as visual art and technology into their work. She is frequently engaged as a Composer in Residence at institutions nationally and internationally; past residencies have included the University of Michigan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Nebraska-Omaha, Virginia Tech, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Queen’s University. Flagello is proud to have co-designed and co-teach the course Commissioning and Collaboration Basics (ARTSADMN 406/506) at the University of Michigan with Hub New Music Executive Director Michael Avitabile.

Flagello earned her Bachelor of Music in Composition from The Hartt School, and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Michigan, where she was awarded the Dorothy Greenwald Graduate Fellowship. She has honed her craft as a Composition Fellow at prestigious institutions such as Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music. Flagello’s works are published by Just a Theory Press. When not composing, you can find her reading a good book, cooking up a new recipe, or tending to her plethora of spider plants.