assistant conductor

 

Frances Ho is currently completing a doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under the tutelage of Dr. Kevin Geraldi. Frances currently holds the Assistant Conductor position with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra. This summer, she was chosen to be a Conducting Scholar at the Eastern Music Festival under the mentorship of Gerard Schwartz. Earlier this year, Frances worked with the Nashville Opera with their Mary Ragland Emerging Artists Program and was the repetiteur for their mainstage production of The Magic Flute. Previously, she held the Assistant Conductor position at La Porte County Symphony Orchestra in 2022-2023. Frances was formerly the Music Director for the Belmont University Opera in Nashville, Tennessee, where she coached and conducted their mainstage productions. She also established the Belmont University Student Orchestra in 2019. In 2016, she directed the Washington State premiere of Bill Rauch’s Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella with the nationally renowned Roosevelt HS Theatre and was nominated for best pit direction through the 5th Avenue Theatre Awards. Recently, Frances was invited to conduct the Corporación Universitaria Reformada Symphony Orchestra in Barranquilla, Colombia, where she debuted Symphony No. 2 by composer James Schutmaat. Frances was also selected to conduct at the 2022 College Orchestra Directors Association Masterclass with Teddy Abrams. Frances has had former instruction under Dr. Robert Gregg and has received instruction from Mark Shapiro through the European American Music Alliance (EAMA) and Juilliard, Robin Fountain at Vanderbilt University, and Donald Schleicher through additional courses and workshops.