Cleveland Orchestra Hires New Assistant Conductor

Taichi Fukumura will assume the role at the beginning of the 2025/26 season

In his new role at the Cleveland Orchestra, the Japanese-American conductor Taichi Fukumura will be supporting music director Franz Welser-Möst as cover conductor, plus lead family, education, and community concerts during the next season. 

Fukumura is the current music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (ISO) and will continue his role there as chief conductor and artistic advisor as he joins the Cleveland Orchestra. 

His guest conducting engagements have included the Bamberg Symphony, Utah Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Eugene Symphony, Delaware Symphony, and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. He has also made guest appearances at the Aspen Music Festival and with the Munich Philharmonic.

Previous roles include assistant conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Sinfonietta, and cover conductor for the Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, and the San Diego Symphony.

A graduate of Boston University and Northwestern University, Fukumura is also the most recent runner-up of Germany’s Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition. 

At the Cleveland Orchestra, he joins fellow new appointments James Feddeck and Tyler Taylor; Feddeck is principal conductor and musical advisor of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and Taylor is the ensemble’s new Daniel R. Lewis Composer Fellow.

“I am tremendously honored to join The Cleveland Orchestra as the new assistant conductor,” Fukumura said. “It is truly inspiring to be part of a team that approaches music-making with such care, passion, and purpose. I am thrilled to work with Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and the incredible musicians and staff, and cannot wait to share exceptional musical experiences with our audiences both in Cleveland and internationally."

“This is a unique opportunity for Taichi Fukumura and one that will advantageously support the vision of our orchestra,” added the president of the ISO’s board of directors, Dr. Daniel Brownstone.