Naomi Woo, conductor
Canadian conductor & pianist Naomi Woo is a widely sought-after symphonic and operatic conductor and educator and the Music Director of NYO Canada. She also holds positions as Artistic Partner of Orchestre Métropolitain Montréal and Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
In the 24/25 season, Naomi makes debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), the Philadelphia Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Toronto. Return engagements include the Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, and the Orchestre Métropolitain.
Highlights of her auspicious 23-24 season included her first tour and recordings with NYO Canada in summer 2024; conducting engagements with the Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Center Orchestra, and Chautauqua Symphony; and leading opera productions with English Touring Opera and Opera Holland Park in the UK.
Engagements in previous seasons include the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Ann Arbor Symphony, Orchestra NOW (New York), Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and Regina Symphony, and her debut at LSO St. Luke’s in London with the ensemble Tangram Sound. Naomi was the assistant conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony from 2019 to 2023 and appeared with the orchestra on multiple occasions. On the opera stage, she has conducted the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone in Vancouver and the world premiere of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s The Night Falls in New York City. In fall 2022, she assisted the world premiere of Oliver Leith’s opera Last Days at Royal Opera House Covent Garden and returned to assist Thomas Adès with the same work in its US premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The 2022 winner of the Canada Council’s prestigious Virginia Parker Prize, Naomi is a member of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership program and was chosen by her mentor Yannick Nézet-Séguin as a member of the Orchestre Métropolitain’s inaugural orchestral conducting academy.
Naomi holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She has also studied mathematics, philosophy, and music at Yale College, the Yale
School of Music, and Université de Montréal.
Celeigh Cardinal, vocalist
Celeigh Cardinal’s powerful voice and storytelling have earned her widespread acclaim. Her third studio album, Boundless Possibilities, released on June 21, 2024, marks a turning point in her career—an odyssey through grief, the triumphant peaks of independence, and the sacred valleys of spirituality.
Anchored by its luminous standout track, “Light of the Moon”, which earned her the 2024 Songwriter of the Year award at the Western Canadian Music Awards, the album is a radiant testament to her lyrical mastery. Boundless Possibilities was also entered in the first round of voting for a potential Grammy nomination and garnered two Canadian Folk Music Award nominations—for English Songwriter of the Year and Indigenous Songwriter of the Year. In 2025, the album received two JUNO nominations for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year and Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year.
This music transcends the ordinary; it is a tapestry of sound and emotion, designed to resonate in the deepest parts of the body, mind, and soul. Each song is a delicate yet unflinching reflection of an artist embracing her place in the universe—offering both a mirror for her own journey and a map for others navigating loss and renewal. It cradles those who’ve known sorrow, whispering in tones both tender and defiant that they are not alone.
Cardinal’s debut album, Everything and Nothing at All (2017), earned her Indigenous Artist of the Year at the 2018 Western Canadian Music Awards. Her follow-up, Stories from a Downtown Apartment (2019), won a JUNO Award for Indigenous Artist of the Year in 2020.
Beyond her albums, Cardinal’s music has been featured in films and TV shows, and she has toured internationally, including performances at Expo 2020 Dubai, Ireland’s Your Roots Are Showing, UK Americana, and Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival.
Shawnee Kish, vocalist
Shawnee Kish’s powerful soul voice is why hearing her is a one-of-a-kind experience. Shawnee’s journey in music has been one that she attributes to her strength, survival, and inspiration during her struggle coming out as Two Spirit and her struggle with depression as a child.
The Mohawk singer-songwriter from Canada was a 2022 JUNO nominee for Contemporary Indigenous Artist of the Year, tied to her acclaimed self-titled debut EP. In 2023, she released her highly anticipated follow-up EP, Revolution, which landed her another Two JUNO nominations in Adult Alternative Album Of The Year, and Contemporary Indigenous Artist Of The Year. Revolution features her powerhouse vocals and introspective song writing, as well as song writing and production collaborations with industry luminaries, including Arkells frontman Max Kerman, Serena Ryder, Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara, and Dan Wilson (Adele, Taylor Swift).
She was the winner of CBC Music’s Searchlight competition in 2020 and was subsequently one of the winners of the Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class program for artist development in 2021. A voice of determined passion, Shawnee is driven by empowering youth around her to use music and continues to honor healing and empower strength using her journey in music. Shawnee was the creator of “Music Is My Medicine,” a symphonic work performed by Shawnee and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa for the CBC Gem show Undisrupted, highlighting the voices, stories of struggle, and talents of indigenous youth.
Shawnee works closely with Kids Help Phone and, in 2023, participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder’s single “What I Wouldn’t Do”, released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone’s Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.
The National Youth Orchestra of Canada
About NYO Canada Since 1960, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) has played a vital role in shaping the future of classical music in Canada. It was founded as a bridge between education and the professional stage—a place where Canada’s most promising young musicians could grow, perform, and launch careers at the highest level.
What began as a two-week summer tour has grown into the country’s most comprehensive preprofessional orchestral training program. NYO Canada offers full scholarships to musicians aged 16 to 28, delivering a transformative, tuition-free experience that encompasses the Orchestral Training Institute, NYO Canada Chamber Music Concert Series, masterclasses, wellness and career-building workshops, and a concert tour. Every orchestra member also receives a personal honorarium, made possible by the generosity of our supporters.
Guided by our esteemed faculty—renowned performers and educators from around the world—participants engage in immersive experiences that mirror the life of a professional musician, from intensive rehearsals and recording sessions to performances in Canada’s most prestigious concert halls.
Today, NYO Canada continues to be the launchpad for the next generation of orchestral excellence. Nearly one in three professional orchestral musicians in Canada is an NYO alum. With the steadfast support of the Government of Canada, our partners, funders, and passionate community of donors, NYO Canada remains a powerful force in Canada’s cultural landscape.
