Norman Huynh

Bio

American conductor Norman Huynh has earned acclaim for his natural musicality, technical command, and dynamic presence on the podium. Renowned for his creative programming and his ability to connect with audiences of all backgrounds, he currently serves as Music Director of the Bozeman Symphony and the Britt Festival Orchestras.

He has appeared with distinguished orchestras and ensembles across North America, Europe, and Asia, including the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfónica del Vallés (Spain), and the Princess Galyani Vadhana Youth Orchestra of Thailand.

Upcoming highlights this season include return engagements with the Minnesota Orchestra and Oregon Symphony, an appearance with Storm Large and the Dayton Philharmonic, choral works by Morten Lauridsen and Caroline Shaw, the world premiere of Stephanie Ann Boyd’s “Carnival of the Nearly Extinct Animals”, and Schubert’s monumental Symphony No. 9 in C Major.

Equally at home with repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary, Huynh is celebrated for his insightful collaborations with artists across genres. His partnerships span classical luminaries such as violinists Itzhak Perlman and Augustin Hadelich; bassist Edgar Meyer; guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas; and composers Kevin Puts, Andy Akiho, and Philip Glass, as well as icons from R&B, hip-hop, and popular music including Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Wyclef Jean, Nas, and Gregory Alan Isakov. He has also led live orchestral performances of major film scores, from *An American in Paris* to the “Harry Potter” series.

A proud first-generation Asian American, Huynh discovered classical music as a 12-year-old trombonist in Alabama. His commitment to sharing the arts with new audiences has shaped his career. During his tenure with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, he launched the popular Symphony and Spirits series for under-40 audiences and helped expand the orchestra’s award-winning PSO Explorers Program.  This work that earned him and the PSO the 2015 Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award.

In 2012, Huynh co-founded the Occasional Symphony in Baltimore, serving as its first Music Director. The ensemble presents inventive programs in nontraditional spaces such as Halloween concerts in a half-restored Gothic church and Cinco de Mayo celebrations in a restaurant basement and continues to thrive with commissioned premieres and reimagined classics.

Huynh has held posts as Associate Conductor of the Oregon Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, he was one of six conductors selected to lead the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, presented by the League of American Orchestras and considered among the field’s most prestigious showcases for emerging conductors.

An alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival Conducting Academy, Huynh studied with Robert Spano, Gustav Meier, Marin Alsop, Markand Thakar, Demondrae Thurman, John Ratledge, and Adrian Gnam. He was also personally mentored by the late Kurt Masur as a recipient of the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholarship.

Huynh makes his home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Catherine Young, and their son, Romeo.