Conductors
Norman Huynh
Music Director
American conductor Norman Huynh has attracted significant acclaim not just for his natural musicality and technical command but for his dynamic presence, creative programming, and highly sought-after abilities in connecting with new audiences. The Music Director of the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra, with a distinguished career as a guest conductor, his past and future guest performances include his sold-out subscription debut with the New York Philharmonic, as well as appearances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Portland Symphony, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the Britt Music & Arts Festival. He also served as the conductor for the 2025 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, leading the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra in the Final Round.
With a range of repertoire from the Baroque to the contemporary, Norman’s prowess as an insightful collaborative conductor includes conducting not only renowned, multi-award-winning stars throughout the world of classical music but also throughout the genres of R&B, hip-hop, and pop. These include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Augustin Hadelich; bassist Edgar Meyer; guitarist Pablo Sáinz Villegas; composers Kevin Puts, Andy Akiho, and Phillip Glass; singer/songwriters Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight; rappers, musicians, and actors Leslie Odom Jr., Wyclef Jean, and Nas; indie and folk artist Gregory Alan Isakov; and pop groups such as Pink Martini and Boyz II Men. In addition, Norman has received considerable acclaim for his work conducting orchestral performances of live film soundtracks, ranging from An American in Paris to Harry Potter films.
A proud first-generation Asian-American, Norman’s passion for engaging new audiences reflects his entry point to classical music as a 12-year-old “band geek” trombonist in Alabama. The euphonium player turned maestro is deeply committed to creating similar opportunities for others to discover the arts and is passionate about creating innovative opportunities for community engagement. These include creating the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s popular evenings of “Symphony and Spirits,” a concert series for under-40 audiences featuring signature cocktails and live performances which continues to be a regularly sold-out event to this day, as well as implementing the Orchestra’s award winning PSO Explorers Program In 2015, Norman and the PSO earned the 2015 Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award, awarded “in recognition of innovative approaches to music education.”
In 2012, Norman co-founded and served as the first Music Director of the Occasional Symphony, a chamber orchestra that creates experiences of live music curated for non-traditional spaces, such as Halloween in a half-restored gothic church or Cinco de Mayo in the basement bar of a Mexican restaurant. Based in Baltimore, the Occasional Symphony continues to perform to critical acclaim, presenting diverse musical voices of the past and present through Norman’s approach of commissioning world premieres along with reimagined concerts of traditional orchestral works.
Norman previously served as the Associate Conductor of the Oregon Symphony and Assistant Conductor of the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra. He was a featured conductor in the 2022 Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview alongside the Louisiana Philharmonic. He was also selected for private mentorship by the late maestro Kurt Masur as a prestigious Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholarship recipient.
Norman Huynh resides in Bozeman, Montana, where he enjoys stargazing, board games, and spending time with his family.
This video was made possible in part by Sal and Carol Glenn Lalani.
Conor Whalen
Symphonic Choir Director
Conor Whalen is a Los Angeles based conductor, currently serving as the Music & Artistic
Director of the Conejo Valley Choral Society and Director of Choral Activities at Chaminade
Preparatory High School. In his first season with CVCS, he successfully put on concerts of
Beethoven’s Mass in C, Finzi’s In Terra Pax, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Vaughan Williams Five
Mystical Songs. Previously, he has served as the assistant conductor for the Newburyport
Choral Society, Boston Conservatory at Berklee Opera, and OperaNEO (San Diego). Recently,
his conducting credits in opera include working on productions of Britten’s Turn of the Screw,
Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Rossini’s La Cenerentola,
Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and a concert of Finzi and Tchaikovsky, featuring tenor Fran
Daniel Laucerica.
Conor had his European conducting debut in 2021, conducting the Morovian Philharmonic in a
performance of Dvorak Symphony 7. He has also appeared in masterclasses with Maestro
Charles Olivieri-Munroe and Alice Parker. Conor also was invited to compete in Budapest,
Hungary in the Anal Doráti International Conducting Competition in 2021, and was a top 20
contestant in the Erich Bergal Conducting Competition in Targu Mures, Romania.
Conor completed his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the Boston Conservatory at
Berklee in the Spring of 2020 as a student of Maestro Andrew Altenbach and Dr. George Case.
He has also done extensive research on English composers with Dr. John Dressler. A native of
Louisville, Kentucky, Conor has a Bachelor of Science in Music from Murray State University.
He currently resides in Los Angeles.