Edwin Outwater

A visionary conductor, curator and producer, Edwin Outwater regularly works with the world’s top orchestras, institutions, and artists to reinvent the concert experience. His effortless ability to cross genres has led to collaborations with a wide range of artists, from Metallica to Yo-Yo Ma.

Outwater is music director of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, overseeing ensembles and shaping the artistic initiatives of this dynamic institution. From September 2024, he has served as principal guest conductor and curator of the BBC Concert Orchestra, working closely with the orchestra’s director to deliver an exciting range of concerts and community and education events. He is also music director laureate of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, which he led from 2007–17.

Recent appearances include performances with The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, San Francsico Symphony, and Seattle Symphony as well as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Brussels Philharmonic. He is a close collaborator for the symphonic shows of acclaimed performers such as Cynthia Erivo, Beck, and Trey Anastasio, and has worked with other stars such as Diana Ross, Leslie Odom, Jr., Lang Lang, Audra McDonald, and Stewart Copeland.

Outwater was recently featured in several successful recordings. 2024 saw the release of Lara Downes’s Rhapsody in Blue Reimagined with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra, as well as GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas. He was also associate conductor for the Sony Classical release A Gathering of Friends, with John Williams and the New York Philharmonic.

A native of Santa Monica, California, Outwater graduated from Harvard University, where he was music director of the Bach Society Orchestra and the a cappella group Harvard Din and Tonics, and wrote the music for the 145th annual production of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. He received a degree in conducting from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied with Heiichiro Ohyama and Paul Polivnick.