John and Elizabeth Brisson Principal Conductor
Jennifer Huang is a Taiwanese-American conductor currently serving as Assistant Conductor of the Northwestern University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras in the Bienen School of Music. Her most recent engagements include Music Director of Thompson Street Opera Co., Guest Conductor of Merit School of Music Orchestras, and Associate Conductor of the Chicago City-Wide Symphony Orchestra. Before moving to Chicago in 2021, Huang worked closely with several ensembles in the Bay Area. During this time, she held positions including Resident Conductor of the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Santa Rosa Symphony Aspirante Youth Orchestra, Music Director of the UCB Summer and Chamber Orchestras, and Assistant Conductor and Chorus Director of West Edge Opera.
While the majority of her work focuses on standard orchestral repertoire, Huang is also an active opera conductor and a strong advocate for new music performance, working closely with composers from around the world. In November of 2021, she served as conductor of the Bienen Fall Opera, completing six performances of Menotti’s The Medium with Northwestern University vocalists and members of the NU Symphony Orchestra. An accomplished violinist, pianist, and vocalist, Huang has performed under the baton of world-class artists such as Riccardo Muti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, and David Robertson. In 2016, she graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a dual degree in Molecular Cell Biology and Music.
Summer Band Conductor
Todd Florin, MD, MSCE is a pediatric emergency medicine physician-scientist, the Director of Research for Emergency Medicine at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He has also worked semi-professionally as a conductor of choral, orchestral, and theatre works for the last 2 decades. He has served as a music director and principal conductor with College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, MA for most summers since 1999, where he has conducted more than 25 full-scale musicals and operettas. He has also served as Music Director/Principal Conductor for The Savoy Company in Philadelphia, PA and Footlighters and Cincinnati Music Theatre in Cincinnati, OH. Dr. Florin pursued formal conducting training at the Eastman School of Music while completing his undergraduate degree in music at the University of Rochester. He feels incredibly fortunate to work with NMO, where so many talented health professional musicians can create beautiful music together.
Past Conductors
Taichi Fukumura
Taichi Fukumura is a rising Japanese-American conductor known for his dynamic stage presence, resulting in a growing international career. Acclaimed for his musical finesse and passionate interpretations, he is a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award in 2021 and 2022. Fukumura is the newly appointed Assistant Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the 2022-2024 seasons.
Highlights from the 2021/22 season include guest conducting debuts with La Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Selected by the Berlin Philharmonic as one of 10 Assistant Conductor Candidates, Fukumura conducted in the Siemens Conductors Scholarship Competition. Fukumura served as the Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he previously received mentorship from Music Director Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow. Past engagements include guest conducting in the Boston Symphony’s Community Chamber Concerts, leading members of the BSO in Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat. As a cover conductor, Fukumura assisted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Philharmonic.
Born in Tokyo, Taichi Fukumura grew up in Boston and began music studies at age three on the violin. Professionally trained on the instrument, he received a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, studying with Peter Zazofsky. Fukumura received both his Doctoral and Masters degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University, studying with Victor Yampolsky. Additional conducting studies include Aspen Music Festival and Pierre Monteux School and Festival.
Michael Wang
Michael Wang is an alumnus of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and a clarinetist and conductor. In high school, he was the concertmaster of the Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, performing with the group in Carnegie Hall in New York City and Disney Hall in Los Angeles. As an undergraduate, he was the Head Conductor of the Davenport Pops Orchestra, the largest student-run orchestra at Yale University. He also arranged eight pieces during his four years with the orchestra, including music from Harry Potter and The Phantom of the Opera.
