When a torn ACL sidelined Chelsea Gallo’s professional softball career, her life took a vastly different turn—or did it? The California-born daughter of nuclear physicists, Gallo these days sees music as a team sport.
“The great thing about growing up with a life full of music and sports is that you’re also growing up with a life full of teamwork,” says Gallo. “Every moment you’re learning how to become better because of the people around you.”
Although she began playing violin and piano at age 4, her goal was to become a math teacher and softball coach. But it was her mother’s instinct that proved prophetic. “She decided that my career was going to be music,” recalls Gallo. “I guess she was right because I found my way into this career.”
Gallo’s interests extend beyond sports and music into science, math and languages. The lifelong learner has worked with NASA and led a recording project for a mission by the spacecraft Orion. “In a way, science and the arts do the same thing,” she notes. “Both are an exploration for the truth.”
A 2022 recipient of the Georg Solti Foundation USA Career Fellowship, Gallo serves as resident conductor for the Florida Orchestra in Tampa. She’s also a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic and principal guest conductor for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.
But don’t assume that Gallo’s musical tastes all lean classical. Her eclectic playlist includes Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, The Smiths, The Killers and Taylor Swift. She notes: “Whatever you’re going through, there’s a Taylor Swift lyric for it.”
Gallo will conduct the Orlando Philharmonic and homegrown star Michael James Scott, who gained acclaim as the genie in Disney’s Aladdin, in a revue of hits from pop, soul, Disney and Broadway. A Dream Is a Wish: Michael James Scott’s Broadway is slated for Saturday, May 17, in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
The arts center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call 407.770.0071 or visit orlandophil.org.
