Scott Yoo
Conductor
“His enthusiasm is contagious.” (Classical Voice North America) - “Scott Yoo has become the stuff of legend” (The Gazette): American conductor Scott Yoo is the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Mexico City Philharmonic and Music Director of Festival Mozaic. He is also the Host and Executive Producer of the PBS series Now Hear This, the first classical music show on American prime time TV in 50 years. This popular programme, which received an Emmy nomination in 2021, reveals the histories of some of the greatest music ever written.
In addition he is also the Conductor of the Colorado College Music Festival, and the founder of the Medellín Festicámara, a chamber music program that brings together world-class artists with underprivileged young musicians. In 2020 he inaugurated a similar program in Mexico City. He has also served as the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Mexico City Philharmonic since 2016. Since 2004, has served as Music Director of Festival Mozaic, an orchestral and chamber music festival in the Central Coast of California.
Mr. Yoo has conducted the Colorado, Dallas, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New World, San Francisco and Utah Symphonies, and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in their Elliott Carter Festival and in his Carnegie Hall debut. In Europe, he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, and the Estonian National Symphony. In Asia, Mr. Yoo has led the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and the Seoul Philharmonic and Busan Philharmonic in Korea. His discography includes over 20 recordings on Bridge, Naxos, New World, and Sony Classical.
A proponent of the music of our time, Mr. Yoo has premiered 71 works by 38 composers. With the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, which he founded, Mr. Yoo has toured extensively and recorded: Mark O'Connor's American Seasons for Sony Classical, John Harbison's chamber orchestra works with soprano Dawn Upshaw for Bridge Records (nominated for a National Public Radio Performance Today Award), and song cycles of Earl Kim with sopranos Benita Valente and Karol Bennett for New World. The latter recording was named a Critics Choice by The New York Times. Other projects include complete orchestral works of Earl Kim with the RTE National Orchestra of Ireland for Naxos; the works of Carter, Lieberson, and Ruders; and the cycle of Mozart Piano Concertos.
Scott Yoo was born in Tokyo and raised in Glastonbury, CT. After beginning his musical studies at age three, Mr. Yoo performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Boston Symphony at age 12. He studied violin with Roman Totenberg, Albert Markov, Paul Kantor and Dorothy DeLay, and conducting with Michael Gilbert and Michael Tilson-Thomas. He attended Harvard University, where he received a bachelor’s degree.He received First Prize in the 1988 Josef Gingold International Violin Competition, the 1989 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and the 1994 Avery Fisher Career Grant.
In 2021 Scott Yoo received an honorary doctorate degree from Colorado College.
