Allentown Symphony Orchestra Music Director-Conductor Diane Wittry has been selected by Musical America’s editors as a “2015 Musical America Influencer” and is profiled in “Musical America’s Key Industry Influencers: Professionals Of The Year, Special Report.” Witty was one of 30 named.

Said Sheila Evans, Executive Director, Allentown Symphony Association, “We are very fortunate to have the multi-talented Ms. Wittry as the music director of the Allentown Symphony. She has published two books for conductors, composed multiple pieces for symphony, maintains a heavy guest-conducting schedule, and an international conducting workshop, making her among the most multi-disciplinary conductors in the field. It is all the more appropriate that this happens in her 20th anniversary season with the Allentown Symphony Association.”

Said Phil Jackson, Allentown Symphony Asscociation Board President, “This is a great honor for Diane and we are so proud of her accomplishments. As one of the influencers in her field she has established herself as an innovator, leader and lasting contributor to music and the Lehigh Valley.”

Wittry, who received a degree in violin performance and a master’s in conducting from the University of Southern California, is author of “Beyond The Baton: What Every Conductor Needs To Know” and “Baton Basics: Communicating Music Through Gestures.”

Musical America, the oldest United States magazine on classical music, is now a website with a weekly online magazine. The digital publication, released Dec. 1 to an audience of 26,000-plus music industry professionals worldwide, is accessible on the web site: musicalamerica.com