Catherine O’Shaughnessy is a rising orchestral and opera conductor in the United States and abroad. Avidly committed to Chicago’s dynamic musical scene, she is delighted to return for a third season as part of the team at Opera Festival of Chicago. Catherine also serves as the executive and music director of Chicago Fringe Opera, is a regular guest conductor for DePaul Opera Theatre, and has appeared conducting productions at Chicago Opera Theater and North Park University. In 2020, Catherine helped produce Fringe’s contribution to the Decameron Opera Coalition’s Tales From a Safe Distance—winner of the “Best Collaboration” award from 360° of Opera. A semi-finalist in the 2016 Spazio Musica International Conducting Competition, Catherine made her New York debut conducting Antonio Salieri’s La Cifra with the dell’Arte Opera Ensemble. She has also music directed Pyramus and Thisbe in Freiberg, Germany (Mittelsächsisches Theater) and conducted Don Giovanni and La Traviata in Orvieto, Italy (Teatro Mancinelli). In 2013 she conducted the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra at a sold-out performance in Tchaikovsky Hall.