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International Conductors Guild
Results 471 - 480 of 954
Kelly Kuo
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Member Bio In 2021, Maestro Kelly Kuo was named Associate Artistic Director of American Lyric Theatre and Music Director of the Reno Chamber Orchestra while continuing his duties as Artistic Director of the Oregon Mozart Players. Praised by the Cincinnati Enquirer as “a leader of exceptional musical gifts, who has a clear technique on the podium and an impressive rapport with audiences,” Maestro Kelly Kuo brings a dynamic versatility and nuance to a diverse repertoire, which includes nearly 100 operas and an expansive symphonic repertoire as well. Recent engagements include productions with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Columbus, Wolf Trap Opera, the Brevard Music Center, and concerts with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Sunriver Music Festival, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and Ballet Fantastique. Maestro Kuo has served on the conducting staff of Los Angeles Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Pacific, Atlanta Symphony, and Cincinnati Symphony. In 2008, Maestro Kuo became the first conductor of Asian descent to lead a performance at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, making his company debut with Porgy and Bess. He has since returned to lead the Chicago premiere of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird and performances featuring artists of the Ryan Opera Center. Upcoming engagements include a return to Opera Columbus and his debut with the Merola Opera Program, New Orleans Opera, and the Olympia Symphony Orchestra. An Oregon native and recipient of a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistant Award, Kuo continues to concertize as a keyboardist as the only pianist to have studied with two pupils of the Russian virtuoso Vladimir Horowitz. Maestro Kuo is a distinguished graduate of the University of Oregon, holds a master’s degree in piano performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio.
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Shizuo Kuwahara
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Member Bio A Japanese-American residing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Mr. Kuwahara has led performances throughout Europe, North & South America, and Asia, including concerts with the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Orquesta Sinfonica de Salta, Japan Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Osaka Symphony, Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Wrocław Philharmonic. He was also an assistant and cover conductor with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and the Orchestre de Paris. Mr. Kuwahara was with the Philadelphia Orchestra as a staff conductor and League of American Orchestras conducting fellow, covering and leading numerous concerts as an apprentice to Christoph Eschenbach. Other past positions include assistant conductor to Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival, conducting the Ozawa Jyuku Orchestra. He also served as an assistant conductor to Valery Gergiev at the Pacific Music Festival. At the beginning of his career, Mr. Kuwahara served as Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at the College of William & Mary and American University, as well as associate conductor of the Virginia Symphony. He was music director of the Augusta Symphony in Georgia, USA. In addition to winning first prize at the Solti Competition and third prize at the Malko International Conducting Competition, he received prizes from the Ionel Perlea International Conducting Competition, Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting, Prokofiev International Conducting Competition and the Fitelberg International Competition. He is also a recipient of the Georg Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, Georgia Trend 2011 40 Under 40, Augusta Region’s Top Ten in Ten Young Professionals, 2011 Greater Augusta Arts Council Art Professional Award and the 2011 S&R Washington Award. Since 2016, he has served as the Ambassador of Tourism of the City of Yokkaichi, Japan, where Mr. Kuwahara grew up. Born in Tokyo, Japan, Mr. Kuwahara received his Master’s Degree in conducting at Yale University, where he was awarded the Charles Ives Full Scholarship and the Eleazar de Carvalho Prize. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded an Arts Leadership Program Certificate, Performer's Certificate and the George Eastman Scholarship. In addition to studying with David Effron and Lawrence Leighton Smith at these universities, Mr. Kuwahara has also studied with Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, Timothy Muffitt and Michael Jinbo at conducting institutions including the Aspen Music Festival National Conducting Institute, Pierre Monteux School and the Chautauqua Music Institute.
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Raphaela Lacerda
San Bernardino Symphony
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Member Bio Recipient of the esteemed 2023 Emerging Professional Award by the Association of California Symphony Orchestras (ACSO), Raphaela Lacerda is an accomplished and engaging orchestra conductor with a deep passion for music that resonates across borders, delighting audiences worldwide. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Maestra Lacerda’s journey in classical music has been marked by remarkable achievements. She has conducted renowned orchestras in Brazil and the United States, including the Minas Gerais Philharmonic Orchestra (OFMG), São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra (OSESP), São Paulo State Youth Orchestra (OJESP), Santo André Symphony Orchestra (OSSA), Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), and the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra (SBSO). In 2025, Maestra Lacerda was appointed Resident Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra (SBSO), where she is now in her third season. Her work has been widely praised, and her leadership continues to make a significant impact on the orchestra and its community. Anne Viricel, SBSO’s Executive Director, noted:
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Andrea LaFranzo
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Member Bio Andrea LaFranzo Music Director and Founder Conductor and cellist Andrea LaFranzo has served the Chicago area for over 20 years as a performer and teacher. Andrea received her degree in cello performance from The Boston Conservatory. She has performed in a number of ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Civic Orchestra, Quincy Symphony, New England Philharmonic, and Illinois Chamber Symphony. Additional, Mrs. LaFranzo has served as guest conductor for several Boston ensembles, focusing on collaboration in premieres of new works. Andrea made her solo debut on the Concert Hall Stage of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC performing with the National Symphony SMI Orchestra. Mrs. LaFranzo has dedicated a great deal of her life and career to music education both with our youth and with adult learners. She has a large cello studio in Warrenville and Elburn where students have gone on to successful music careers of their own, or have continued a life-long relationship with their instrument and music. Andrea presently directs the Fox Valley Youth Orchestra, and is principal cellist of the Fox Valley Orchestra. She has newly been appointed adjunct instructor of strings at Aurora University, directing the AU String Ensemble.
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Dr. Ching-Chun Lai
Rutgers University
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Member Bio Conductor Ching-Chun Lai has held the post of Director of Orchestras and Associate Professor of Music at the Crane School of Music, State University of New York at Potsdam since 2011. During her tenure, the Crane Symphony Orchestra has advanced swiftly in both quality of performance and reputation. The orchestra has performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In Potsdam (NY), Dr. Lai appears annually in Potsdam’s traditional holiday “Candlelight Concert”, broadcast nationwide by PBS. As part of Crane’s educational mission, Dr. Lai and the Orchestra tour regularly throughout the Northeastern United States. Possessing a wide range of symphonic repertoire, Dr. Lai has worked with professional orchestras in various settings, such as the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Buffalo Chamber Players, Gstaad Festival Orchestra (Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Switzerland), Madison Bach Musicians, New Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria), Richmond Symphony Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In the course of her conducting career, Dr. Lai has performed in Jordan Hall in Boston, Overture Center and Music Hall in Madison (Wisconsin), and Chung-Hsin Concert Hall in Taiwan. She has prepared the orchestra and served as assistant/cover conductor for Gunther Schuller, JoAnn Falletta, and André Raphel, as well as Christof Perick, Larry Rachleff, and Duain Wolfe in the Lougheed-Kofoed Festival of the Arts. Dr. Lai has also collaborated with renowned artists, such as the Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet, percussionist Aiyun Huang, bassist Barry Green. With her deep interest in opera and new music, Dr. Lai has conducted the world premiere of Maura Bosch’s opera Art and Desire, a University of Wisconsin-Madison commission, as well as Jerry Hui’s comic opera Wired for Love. She has also worked for opera productions of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, L’elisir d’amore, and Maria Stuarda, Handel’s Alcina, Massenet’s Thaïs, and Britten’s Turn of the Screw. A great success, the performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Madison Bach Musicians were described in Isthmus as “consistently excellent, from the opening triple-chorus to the final double chorus, while the harmonized chorales were soaring anthems of faith.” She has also collaborated with the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was a founding member of the group, New Muse. With these dynamic musicians, Dr. Lai undertook several significant projects including fully-staged performances of Eight Songs for a Mad King by Peter Maxwell Davies, and performances of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire. Dr. Lai made her conducting debut at the age of 19 with Taiwan’s National Cheng Kung University Wind Ensemble and was appointed conductor of that ensemble soon after her first engagement.
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