Damali Willingham

Often noted for their warmth and authenticity, Damali Willingham is a firm believer in the power of music as a harbinger of connection and change. Born and raised just outside of Atlanta, GA, Damali is a conductor, composer, arranger, bassoonist, and teaching artist. They received their Bachelor of Music in Composition and Conducting summa cum laude from the Berklee College of Music. 

After collaborating for the last three seasons with the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Damali returns for the 2026/27 season as Assistant Conductor. Their 2025/26 season featured cover conducting engagements with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, participation in a conducting workshop with Valentina Peleggi and the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and multiple performances of their arrangements of Gena Branscombe’s Festival Prelude and March. Damali was also named a participant in the 2026 Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship Mentorship Program. 

Damali’s promise as a conductor was apparent from a young age; they began conducting their high school’s pit orchestra at age 14, and at 17 became the youngest nominee for the “Best Orchestra” award at the Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards. During their studies at the Berklee College of Music, they conducted various ensembles, including a 2-year term as music director of the Berklee Motion Picture Orchestra, the school’s largest student-run ensemble. Damali has participated in multiple conducting fellowship programs including the Chelsea Symphony Orchestra Conducting Fellowship, Queer Urban Orchestra Conducting Fellowship, and the Aspen Conducting Academy where they were awarded the Robert J. Harth Prize. In 2023, they appeared as a guest conductor with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra for its Seen/Unseen concert program, featuring the compositions of Black American Women with soloists Louise Toppin and Terri Lynne Carrington. Damali’s mentors in conducting include Dr. Mélisse Brunet, Dr. Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin, Tamara Dworetz, Robert Spano, Mark Stringer, Eric Stern, and Francisco Noya. 

As a composer and arranger, Damali explores groove music and the genres of soul, funk, jazz, Blues, and R&B in the world of contemporary classical music. They have received commissions for original ensemble works and arrangements from the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, Berklee Motion Picture Orchestra, and the Gena Branscombe Project, and a solo work from bassoonist Dr. Amy Pollard. Damali has studied composition with Barak Schmool, Dr. Marti Epstein, and Dr. Richard Prior.

In addition to conducting and composing, Damali shares their creative passion through teaching and working with youth. Through their role with the Lexington Philharmonic, they regularly work with band and orchestra programs in Fayette County. As a conducting fellow with the Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras they taught music theory and bassoon in addition to their conducting responsibilities, and Damali has been privately tutoring theory and composition for over seven years.  

Damali’s experience as a Black Queer person is central to their creative practice; their work centers the vulnerability, celebration, and liberation of their communities through artistic expression, community engagement, musical innovation, and universal accessibility. Outside of music, Damali enjoys roller skating, jigsaw puzzles, spending time in nature, and cooking for their loved ones.