Guided by the belief that orchestras are living ecosystems shaped by human connection, American conductor Rachel Waddell brings a narrative, collaborative approach to her work on the podium. With over fourteen years of experience across professional, educational, and community ensembles, Rachel shapes programs and performances that reflect her belief in music as a vehicle for connection, imagination, and shared experience. An award-winning conductor who has led ensembles across the United States and internationally, she balances high artistic standards with humility, humanity, and a commitment to shaping the trajectory of symphonic music in the 21st century.

Professionally, Rachel is building a dynamic and expanding conducting career across the United States and internationally, earning recognition for her clarity, narrative approach, and collaborative leadership on the podium. She has guest conducted the Rochester, Las Vegas, and Denver Philharmonics, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra, and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and has been a finalist in multiple Music Director searches. Her professional foundation includes a transformative five-year tenure advancing from Assistant to Associate Conductor with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. Internationally, she was named a Carlos Miguel Prieto Conducting Fellow in 2025 and studied with Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Domaine Forget, where she was selected to share the podium with him in leading the Orchestre Métropolitain on a subscription concert. She also conducted selections from Così fan tutte in Vienna through the Vienna Opera Academy, performing with a professional ensemble in ticketed concerts following rehearsals at the Musikverein.

A tireless advocate for musical access, Rachel’s commitment to educational excellence earned her recognition as a 2026 GRAMMY Museum Music Educator Award Semifinalist. She serves as Assistant Professor and Director of Orchestras at Colorado State University, following a highly successful six-year tenure as Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Rochester. Concurrently the Music Director of the Longmont Youth Symphony, she is a highly sought-after guest conductor for honor ensembles, including the 2025 TMEA All-State Orchestra Sinfonietta. In 2026, she launches a new collaborative initiative with the Colorado Symphony through the inaugural CONCERT Program (Collaborative Orchestral Network for Community Education, Resources, and Training), designed to bridge the professional and academic orchestral spheres.
Off the podium, Rachel champions institutional innovation. During the pandemic, she co-founded Conductors for Change, launching global seminars and award-winning programs that reimagine the role of orchestras in the United States. Her visionary approach to audience development has earned her the American Prize’s Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award in Orchestral Programming in both 2020 and 2021. A voraciously curious learner dedicated to deepening her artistry and humanity, Rachel holds a DMA in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and is a member of The Recording Academy.

Priscilla Arasaki is a violinist and dedicated mariachi educator based in Colorado. She is a full-time member of Mariachi Las Dahlias, Denver’s all-female mariachi ensemble, which has been featured on Denver’s 9News and performed multiple times at the Colorado Governor’s Mansion. Alongside her performance career, Priscilla serves as the Co-Executive Director of Cuerdas y Canciones Center for Mariachi Arts and Culture, an organization she co-founded with Marialuisa Meza Burgos to promote mariachi education in schools across the state.

Priscilla began her teaching career in Austin, Texas, before moving to Colorado, where she developed a passion for mariachi and established the first mariachi program at Skyline High School. She then continued this work at Sunset Middle School, expanding and strengthening the school’s mariachi program. She holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Marialuisa Meza-Burgos is a singer, musician, and Mariachi artist, specializing in traditional Mexican Mariachi music. She is the lead vocalist and vihuela player for the Colorado-based all-female Mariachi, Las Dahlias. Mari holds a Bachelor’s in Music from MSU Denver and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre from Naropa University. Passionate about preserving the tradition, she offers private lessons in Mariachi vocal performance and vihuela playing.