Ella Castro

Ella Castro is a Filipino soprano, conductor, and composer. A jack of many trades, Ella has a stellar career in singing and teaching, leading choirs and orchestras, and composing and arranging musicals and choral works. Under the guidance of her voice professor Dr. Terrie Sanders, she won numerous accolades in her singing career. She also taught her own voice studio in Northwestern State University (NSU) School of Creative and Performing Arts. She was also the interim director of NSU Men’s Chorus for almost two years. As a chorister, Ella had traveled to different parts of the world (Asia, Europe, and USA) joining local and international choral competitions and concert tours, including being a member of the World Youth Choir in 2025, touring Catalunya and France. She made her orchestral debut conducting the Natchitoches Northwestern Symphony Orchestra in 2022. She was the chorusmaster and assistant conductor of Spotlight on Opera 2023’s productions of Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Madama Butterfly held in Shreveport, Louisiana under the guidance of Dr. William Reber and Ms. Kristin Roach. Back in the Philippines, she was the resident musical director and composer of Teatro Kalsayeño, Caloocan City Science High School's theatre group from 2014 to 2020, composing various musicals for and with them. She served as personnel manager of University of North Texas - Orchestral Studies for two years and is working on her doctorate dissertation in Orchestral Conducting under Maestro David Itkin and Dr. Clay Couturiaux, and her related field in Music Business with Prof. Jessica Muñiz. She conducted and assisted the UNT Symphony Orchestra and Concert Orchestra and was also the assistant conductor of Lewisville Lake Symphony for the 2025-2026 season.