Be Transported
Out West in
the Heart of
St. Pete
THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2019-2020 37
Akiko Fujimoto is associate
conductor
of the Minnesota Orchestra,
where she
recently conducted
two Sommerfest programs
and will make
her subscription debut
in March 2020.
She was recently
appointed music
director of the Mid-
Texas Symphony,
beginning with the
2019/20 season.
Fujimoto has conducted the National Symphony
Orchestra, Houston Symphony, North Carolina
Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Corpus Christi
Symphony and Fort Wayne Philharmonic. She
has also conducted the BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra at St. Magnus Festival and Canada’s National
Arts Centre Orchestra as a participant in the
Young Conductors Programme. Future engagements
include the Lexington Philharmonic and
Portland Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to arriving in Minnesota, she served as associate
conductor of the San Antonio Symphony, where
highlights included a gala featuring violinist Gil
Shaham in Brahms’ Violin Concerto and fully staged
ballet productions of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet,
Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She
also served as the conducting associate for the Virginia
Symphony.
Fujimoto held positions both at Harvard University,
where she directed the Mozart Society Orchestra,
and at Stanford University, where she served as the
interim music director of the Stanford Symphony
Orchestra. She also held an appointment as director
of orchestras at the College of William & Mary.
Born in Japan, Fujimoto moved to the United States
at age 14. She attended Stanford University, where
she studied music and psychology, and holds advanced
degrees in conducting from the Eastman
School of Music and Boston University. Additionally,
she was cover conductor for Esa-Pekka Salonen,
Zubin Mehta and Susanna Mälkki at the Los Angeles
Philharmonic.
AKIKO FUJIMOTO
Guest Conductor
Billy Schenck, Oh, You Wanted to See My Guns?
150 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL | 727.892.4200 | thejamesmuseum.org
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