Japanese-American conductor Taichi Fukumura is Director of Orchestras at the Merit School of Music, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Northwestern Medical Orchestra, founding Music Director of the Accompanietta Orchestra, and cover conductor for the Chicago Philharmonic. He is entering his second year with Chicago Sinfonietta as their Project Inclusion Conducting Fellow, where he works closely with Music Director Mei-Ann Chen and receives further mentorship from leaders such as Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, and JoAnn Falletta.

Fukumura grew up in Boston and studied violin with Peter Zazofsky at Boston University where he received his Bachelor of Music. He began conducting at the age of 16, and proceeded to found the Accompanietta Orchestra during college. His work with Accompanietta was highly acclaimed, and he was invited to conduct Stravinsky’s l’Histoire du Soldat with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra as part of their Community Chamber Concert Series. He also served as the Assistant Conductor of the Boston Civic Symphony where he was recognized for his ability to “create a sumptuous sound world” (Boston Music Intelligencer). He was named Associate Conductor in the following season and led the orchestra in 13 performances. Equally adept in opera conducting, Fukumura has led productions of Britten’s Turn of the Screw as music director and conducted Mozart’s Don Giovanni as assistant conductor at the Northwestern University Opera Theatre. He has previously served as a staff conductor at Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras whose premiere orchestra annually performs a complete opera, and has led rehearsals of Puccini’s La Boheme.