Lawrence Loh

Described as bringing an “artisan storyteller’s sensitivity… shaping passages with clarity and power via beautifully sculpted dynamics… revealing orchestral character not seen or heard before” (Arts Knoxville), Lawrence Loh enjoys a dynamic career as a conductor of orchestras around the world.

After an extensive two-year search, Mr. Loh was appointed Music Director of the Waco Symphony Orchestra in the spring of 2024. He was also named Conductor Laureate of The Syracuse Orchestra following his decade-long tenure as Music Director (2015–2025). As Syracuse.com observed, “The connection between the organization and its audience is one of the qualities that’s come to define Syracuse’s symphony as it wraps up its 10th season, a milestone that might have seemed impossible at the beginning.” Under Loh’s leadership, The Syracuse Orchestra demonstrated that it is possible to build a “new, more sustainable artistic institution from the ground up.”

Recent appearances include the premiere of Clue with the Oregon Symphony and Epic Film Scores with the North Carolina Symphony, followed by a busy summer 2026 featuring a Joe Hisaishi program with The Florida Orchestra, The Princess Bride with the Houston Symphony, and Top Gun: Maverick with both the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Symphony. He returned to the Shippensburg Summer Music Festival for An Evening with Lea Salonga and The Empire Strikes Back, led a Hans Zimmer and John Williams program with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks, joined trumpeter Chris Botti and the Utah Symphony, and conducted How to Train Your Dragon with The Cleveland Orchestra and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with the San Diego Symphony. He concluded the summer leading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with the Dallas Symphony.

Highlights of the 2026/2027 season include Edward Scissorhands with the St. Louis Symphony, Top Gun: Maverick with the Nashville Symphony, and Maestro of the Movies: A Tribute to John Williams with The Florida Orchestra. As Music Director of the Waco Symphony Orchestra, he leads a full season ranging from symphonic programs with pianist Orion Weiss, guitarist Sharon Isbin, and violinist William Hagen to a season-closing performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He also returns to the Dallas Symphony for its holiday festivities. Looking ahead to 2027, engagements include returns to the Pittsburgh Symphony for Disney in Concert, the New Jersey Symphony for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and the Winston-Salem Symphony for a John Williams tribute, as well as Star Wars: A New Hope with the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Appointed Assistant Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 2005, Mr. Loh was quickly promoted to Associate and Resident Conductor within his first three years. Always a favorite among Pittsburgh audiences, he continues to return regularly to conduct the PSO in a wide range of programs.

Mr. Loh previously served as Music Director of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic; Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Syracuse Opera; Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and Denver Young Artists Orchestra; and Associate Conductor of both the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

Other guest conducting appearances include the Albany Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra, as well as the Cathedral Choral Society at Washington National Cathedral.

His festival appearances include the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, Chautauqua Institution Summer Music Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Kinhaven Music School Summer Festival, Performing Arts Institute of Wyoming Seminary, Shippensburg Summer Music Festival, Sun Valley Music Festival, and Tanglewood, where he has appeared with both the Boston Pops and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

A self-described “Star Wars geek” and film music enthusiast, Mr. Loh has conducted numerous sold-out John Williams and film music programs, often serving as both host and conductor. As the Pittsburgh Tribune noted, “It is his enthusiasm for Williams’ music and the films for which it was written that is Loh’s great strength in this program. A fan’s enthusiasm drives his performances in broad strokes and details and fills his speaking to the audience with irresistible appeal.”

Mr. Loh has assisted John Williams on multiple occasions and has worked with a wide range of pops artists, including Chris Botti, Ann Hampton Callaway, Jason Alexander, Idina Menzel, and Lea Salonga. His extensive Films in Concert repertoire includes Black Panther, Star Wars Episodes IV–VI, Jaws, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jurassic Park, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, and Singin’ in the Rain, among many others.

Lawrence Loh received his Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting from Yale University, his Master’s in Choral Conducting from Indiana University, and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester. Born in Southern California to Korean parents and raised in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he and his wife, Jennifer, have a son, Charlie, and a daughter, Hilary.

This biography was provided courtesy of the guest artist and has not been edited or reviewed by the BSO.