About
Georgia Markakis Mills is a Greek-American conductor, pianist, and maker of classical and contemporary music.
Showcasing versatility across orchestral repertoire, opera, and new music, Georgia has conducted acclaimed ensembles and collaborated with such artists as Julia Wolfe, Chris Thile, George Lewis, Nico Muhly, Augusta Read Thomas, Dylan Mattingly, Darian Donovan Thomas, Modney, Louis Andriessen, Judd Greenstein, and Courtney Bryan. Upcoming engagements include Guest Conductor with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in a program of string works, Guest Conductor with Present Music in a live music-to-film concert of Wu Tsang’s Moby Dick; or, The Whale scored by Caroline Shaw and Andrew Yee with Asma Maroof, and a concert with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in a concert of Coleridge-Taylor, Ravel, and Dvořák. In later months Georgia will rehearse the Eastman Philharmonia in a concert with Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du printemps” and lead the Metropolis Ensemble in a concert of Erik Hall’s rendition of Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” joined by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
In recent months, Georgia has led the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in a concert featuring Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony, conducted the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in a program of works by Stravinsky, Copland, Nardi, and Mozart, led the New Conductors Orchestra in Ravel’s Ma mere l’Oye in New York, NY, and conducted the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra in a concert of Beethoven, Mazzoli, and Stravinsky in Williamstown, MA. She led the award-winning new music group Alarm Will Sound as their first Guest Conductor in a program of premieres along with Steve Reich’s “Radio Rewrite,” and conducted the International Contemporary Ensemble in their program featuring works by Courtney Bryan for the Bang on a Can Long Play Festival.
Highlights from the past year include serving as Guest Conductor of the Grossman Ensemble, Cover Conductor with the New York Philharmonic, Cover Conductor with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and Guest Conductor of Contemporaneous. Georgia appeared as the Cover Conductor for the premiere of Dylan Mattingly’s opera Stranger Love presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Associate Music Director/Assistant Conductor for the premiere of Judd Greenstein’s opera A Marvelous Order with NOW Ensemble. In past years, Georgia conducted Nico Muhly’s world premiere ballet Third Bird, directed by Isaac Mizrahi and John Heginbotham, with Ensemble Signal in collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process performing arts series. She also conducted the premiere studio recording of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe’s Oxygen, presented by Carnegie Hall, and served as Assistant Conductor for the premiere of George Lewis’ Tales of the Traveller at the TIME:SPANS festival.
During her studies at the Eastman School of Music, Georgia was the Assistant Conductor of the Eastman Opera Theatre under direction of Timothy Long in staged productions of Kate Soper’s Here be Sirens and Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. Georgia has held numerous artistic direction and arts administration positions, including: Assistant Conductor of the Eastman Opera Theatre; Music Director and Conductor of the Rochester Summer Opera; Vice President of OSSIA New Music; Co-Artistic Director of the Pulsing & Shaking Festival; Administrative Associate with The Knights orchestra in Brooklyn; Publicity Assistant for Dotdotdot Music; and Production Assistant with Metropolis Ensemble. Georgia received her undergraduate degree in piano performance from New York University in the studio of Eduardus Halim.
Georgia completed her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Conducting at the Eastman School of Music in May 2024, when she was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize and was nominated for the Lecture Recital Prize in recognition of her research on micropolyphonic transformations in the music of György Ligeti. At Eastman, she served as Assistant Conductor of the Musica Nova Ensemble under the direction of conductor Brad Lubman. Georgia held graduate teaching awards in conducting and music theory at Eastman, and was an Adjunct Professor of Orchestration at Roberts Wesleyan University.
Recent Highlights
Metropolis Ensemble ft. Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Music Director for Erik Hall’s rendition of Steve Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians”
June 20, 2025 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, NY
Eastman Philharmonia
Guest Conductor for rehearsals featuring Igor Stravinsky’s “Le Sacre du Printemps” and “Violin Concerto in D”
April 14-18 at Eastman Theatre’s Kodak Hall in Rochester, NY
New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra
Guest Conductor for concert featuring works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Maurice Ravel, and Antonín Dvořák
April 11, 2025 at Symphony Space in New York, NY
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
Guest Conductor for concert featuring string works by Jessie Montgomery, Caroline Shaw, Arvo Pärt, Max Richter, and Anna Clyne
April 1, 2025 at the Sklarsky Glass Box Theater in Rochester, NY
Present Music
Guest Conductor for music-to-film concert of Wu Tsang’s Moby Dick; or, The Whale scored by Caroline Shaw, Andrew Yee and Asma Maroof
February 14, 2025 at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, WI
Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
Cover Conductor for concert featuring works including the album “All My Friends” by Aoife O’Donovan and works by Antonín Dvořák
November 12, 2024 at the Dr. Philips Center for the performing arts in Orlando, FL
New Conductors Orchestra
Guest Conductor for concert featuring works of John Williams, Frank Ticheli, Maurice Ravel and Paul Hindemith
October 19 & 20, 2024 at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church in New York, NY
Berkshire Symphony Orchestra
Guest Conductor for concert featuring works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Missy Mazzoli and Igor Stravinsky
September 27, 2024 At Williams College in Williamstown, MA
International Contemporary Ensemble
Guest Conductor for concert featuring the works of Courtney Bryan
May 5, 2024 at irondale in Brooklyn, NY
New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra
Guest Conductor for works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven
april 12, 2024 at symphony space in New York, NY
Contemporaneous: Colgate Residency
Guest Conductor for works by Ryan Chase and Harriet Steinke
March 3, 2024 at colgate university in hamilton, ny
International Contemporary Ensemble
Guest Conductor for workshop with composers Emily Howard, Bofan Ma, Megan Steinberg, Robert Laidlow, Zakiya Leeming, and Sam Salem
february 21, 2024 at colgate university in hamilton, ny
Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
Guest Conductor for concert of works by Nardi, Mozart, Copland, and Stravinsky
February 12, 2024 at first united methodist church in orlando, fl
Alarm Will Sound
Guest Conductor for concert of works by Steve Reich, Texu Kim, Christian Quiñones, and Elijah Daniel Smith
January 16, 2024 with the Mizzou New Music Initiative at the university of missouri in Columbia, MO
Grossman Ensemble
Guest Conductor for world premieres by Sungji Hong, Jeffrey Mumford, Andreia Pinto Correia, and Justin Weiss
December 1, 2023 at the University of Chicago’s Center for Contemporary Composition in Chicago, IL
New York Philharmonic
Cover Conductor for concert with works by John Zorn, Kinan Azmeh & Layale Chaker, and Unsuk Chin
October 27, 2023 at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in New York, NY
Virginia Symphony Orchestra
Cover Conductor for concert with works including Ludwig van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and Symphony No. 7, and Steve Reich’s Duet for Violins and Strings
September 14, 15 & 17, 2023 at Ferguson center of the arts & Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA
Contemporaneous: Herron & Le Boeuf
Guest Conductor for the studio recordings of Molly Herron’s An Opening Goodbye and Pascal Le Boeuf’s Imaginary Companions
June 20, 2023 IN Brooklyn, NY
LA Phil: Dylan Mattingly’s Stranger Love
Cover Conductor for the premiere of Dylan Mattingly’s opera Stranger Love performed by Contemporaneous presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
May 20, 2023 IN Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA
Doctoral Conducting Recital
Conducted Arnold Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring
APRIL 8, 2023 IN Ciminelli Lounge AT THE EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra
Guest Conductor for “Chris Thile in Concert”
February 25, 2023 at the Dr. Philips Center for the performing arts in Orlando, FL
Judd Greenstein’s A Marvelous Order
Associate Music Director for the premiere of Judd Greenstein’s opera A Marvelous Order
OCTOBER 20, 2022 IN EISENHOWER AUDITORIUM AT PENN STATE UNIVERSITY
Nico Muhly’s Third Bird
Conducted Nico Muhly’s premiere ballet Third Bird performed by Ensemble Signal in collaboration with the Guggenheim Museum’s “Works and Process” performing arts series
JUNE 3–5, 2022 AT THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM IN NEW YORK, NY
Carnegie Hall: Julia Wolfe’s Oxygen
Conducted Julia Wolfe’s Carnegie Hall Residency virtual premiere studio recording of Oxygen