Taichi Fukumura

Taichi Fukumura is the current Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra, appointed by Franz Welser-Möst, and music director with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra (ISO). A rising Japanese American conductor acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and musical finesse, Fukumura is the Second Prize Winner of The Mahler Competition 2023, a four-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, and recipient of the Concert Artists Guild Richard S. Weinert Award.

Recent international engagements include debuts with the Bamberg Symphony and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. He also returned to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra as guest conductor, having previously conducted over 110 concerts as an assistant conductor appointed by Robert Spano. Other recent guest debuts include the Utah Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Chicago Philharmonic, Eugene Symphony, Delaware Symphony Orchestra, and Colorado Springs Philharmonic.

As music director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Fukumura has led an ongoing initiative to broaden the orchestra’s repertoire. Focusing on well-balanced, impactful programming, he has highlighted the work of living composers, including Brian Raphael Nabors, Christopher Theofanidis, Stacy Garrop, Gala Flagello, and Michelle Isaac.

Fukumura previously served as assistant conductor of the Chicago Sinfonietta, where he received mentorship from music director Mei-Ann Chen as a Freeman Conducting Fellow. He also returned to the Aspen Music Festival and School as guest assistant conductor, following a summer as a conducting fellow, and was invited by Barbara Hannigan to assist at the Munich Philharmonic and the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Switzerland.

Born in Tokyo, Fukumura spent his childhood in Boston and began studying violin at age 3. He holds a Bachelor of Music in violin performance from Boston University, and both Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in orchestral conducting from Northwestern University under the mentorship of Victor Yampolsky. Fukumura is fluent in both English and Japanese.