Hailed by critics as “charismatic, crisp, precise, and elegant,” Janna Sailor is a Canadian conductor and artistic leader known for compelling performances, adventurous programming, and an artistic practice that brings together orchestral excellence, contemporary creation, and meaningful cultural collaboration.

Sailor has conducted leading ensembles across Canada, including the Calgary Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, Ensemble Obiora, Winnipeg Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, Saskatoon Symphony, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, and Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO). Equally at home in symphonic, operatic, contemporary, and cross-cultural repertoire, she has built a reputation for projects that expand the possibilities of the orchestral stage.

Janna Sailor begins her 2026 season on the podium at Mexico‘s Festival Cultura UNAM with Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, a return to Saskatoon Symphony conducting “Adele and Amy” concerts, and her debut conducting the Victoria Symphony in “Christmas Pops with Steven Page”.

In 2027, Sailor leads Kamloops Symphony Orchestra in “Rising Voices” with spoken word artist Zoey Roy.

Sailor is the founder, Artistic Director, and Conductor of the Allegra Chamber Orchestra, a professional ensemble she created to challenge assumptions about who leads, creates, and is represented in classical music. Under her leadership, Allegra has become a distinctive platform for ambitious interdisciplinary projects, contemporary Canadian repertoire, and collaborations with women, Indigenous, and historically underrepresented artists.

A significant strand of Sailor’s work is contemporary and intercultural creation. Her work with the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra places her at the intersection of Western orchestral practice and musical traditions from around the world. This work is represented on the album Imagined Worlds, to be released in fall 2026. Sailor also appears as conductor on the forthcoming recording It’s Too Good to Talk About Now with mezzo-soprano Julie Nesrallah and the Saskatoon Symphony, further expanding a discography centred on collaboration and Canadian artistic voices.

Sailor’s leadership has received national and international recognition: she is the recipient of Orchestras Canada’s Betty Webster Award for Orchestral Innovation, was named to Women in Music Canada’s Honour Roll – “10 Female Artists to Watch,” and was selected as a Global Leaders Institute Fellow. She has presented at the International Conductors Guild Conference in New York and the Global Leaders Institute Innovation Summit in Arequipa, Peru.

Beyond the podium, Sailor serves as Director of the Canadian Music Centre’s Prairie Region, where she champions Canadian composers and works to strengthen connections between creators, performers, and communities. She is also the host of the weekly podcast Musing, featuring conversations with artists, composers, cultural leaders, and creative thinkers about music, artistic practice, and the ideas shaping the cultural landscape.

Originally from rural Saskatchewan, Sailor studied violin and conducting at the Brandon University School of Music and the University of British Columbia. Across her work as conductor, founder, curator, and collaborator, she is driven by a conviction that orchestras can be both artistically exceptional and fearless in embracing new voices, new stories, and new possibilities.