Musician. Innovator. Curator. Rachael Worby is an inspirational American conductor renowned for successfully reimagining the traditional concert format as well as dissolving the barriers that exist between performers and audiences. Having built a multi-decades-long international career centered on the belief that live music is an accessible, universal tool of discovery, Rachael brings her passion, boundless energy, and versatile command of musical genres to create memorable, one-of-a-kind live multi-disciplinary events that expand today's cultural landscape.
Highly respected as an arts educator, Rachael's belief that arts education and community engagement are an essential part of an organization is a focus of MUSE/IQUE's mission. Through an expansive, carefully curated outreach program, the organization has developed strong, ongoing immersive relationships with 15 nonprofits throughout the region that include season performances.
A pioneering member of the first wave of women on the conductor's podium to achieve national and international renown, Rachael's many honors include serving on the National Council of the Arts for four years as an appointee of President Bill Clinton. Worby has held multiple posts in the classical music world, beginning her professional career as a Conducting Assistant for the Spokane Symphony for two years. She served as Assistant Conductor for Youth Concerts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic for three years, and for twelve years as Music Director and Conductor of Carnegie Hall's Young People's Concerts, stepping into the former post of her idol Bernstein. Rachael served as Music Director and Conductor of Wheeling Symphony Orchestra (WSO) for seventeen years (1986-2003), building it from a small orchestra into a regional powerhouse. Founder of the American Music Festival held in Bucharest and Cluj, Romania, Worby led the Pasadena Pops from 2000-2010. With both the WSO and the Pasadena Pops she expanded the orchestras' performance season, as well as their national and local profiles. In 2011, she founded MUSE/IQUE.
