For Immediate Release
October 27, 2021
Contact: Julie Goetz, Director of Communications
(412) 905-9058
PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA APPOINTS TWO NEW ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
Jacob Joyce to join the PSO in November 2021
Moon Doh to join the PSO in January 2022
PITTSBURGH—Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra president and CEO Melia Tourangeau today announced the appointment of two new assistant conductors, Jacob Joyce and Moon Doh, who will join the orchestra this season, each for a two-year term.
“The Pittsburgh Symphony is delighted to welcome to the orchestra Moon Doh and Jacob Joyce, two exceptionally talented and highly acclaimed young conductors who bring diverse backgrounds and engaging personalities both to the podium and to the community,” said Melia Tourangeau, president and CEO, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to regular duties as assistant conductors (such as acting as cover conductors for all of the programs across the Mellon Grand Classics and Pops subscription series and assisting with recordings), Moon Doh and Jacob Joyce also will share in conducting the Learning and Community Engagement concert programs, including the Fiddlesticks Family Series, Schooltime Concerts, Side-By-Side Program, summer programming, and various other performances in the community. In addition, Joyce will become Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra (PYSO), one of the oldest and one of the most advanced youth orchestras in the country, which typically presents three concerts per season at Heinz Hall. Moon Doh and Jacob Joyce will succeed former Associate Conductor Earl Lee and former Resident Conductor Andrés Franco.
"I am excited and honored to be joining the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra that I have admired since I was a child. I am grateful for the opportunity to share the stage with such incredible musicians, and I cannot wait to begin meeting the Pittsburgh audience, supporting the PSO's many educational initiatives, and working to extend the orchestra's influence in new communities,” said Jacob Joyce.
"It is quite surreal, that I am gifted this opportunity to work with Maestro Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for two seasons. I can hardly wait to share this gift with the Pittsburgh audiences,“ said Moon Doh.
Jacob Joyce, currently serving as the Resident Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony (ISO), will make his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra debut on November 20, 2021, on the orchestra’s “Light Up Night” program, an event that is part of the 60th annual kickoff to the holiday season in Pittsburgh. Joyce has gained recognition as a dynamic and innovative presence on the podium, appearing with the ISO several times in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons, made his debut with several American orchestras in the 2019-2020 season, and has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the NDR-Sinfonieorchester, the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, and the Frankfurt Museumsorchester. A recipient of a Solti Career Assistance Award in 2020, Joyce is an avid promoter of contemporary music, works extensively with educators and students, and is the creator and host of the podcast Attention to Detail: The Classical Music Listening Guide, which provides people of all backgrounds with basic techniques for listening to classical music.
Currently Artistic Director and Conductor of the Flora Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, Moon Doh, will join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in January 2022. A recipient of the Takaya Urakawa Foundation Grant awarded to promising young musicians, he has not only led exciting concerts for the past three season but is also a passionate advocate for reaching children through music and for young rising artists. Moon Doh was born in South Korea, and has actively worked with asylum seekers in Hungary, children in underserved areas of Bangladesh, and inmates in Baltimore as the president of a student organization while completing his B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins University. His latest collaborations include leading the WDR Funkhausorchester in Germany, Savaria Symphony Orchestra in Hungary, and Pleven Philharmonic in Bulgaria.
About Moon Doh
A recipient of the Takaya Urakawa Foundation Grant awarded to promising young musicians, conductor Moon Doh has found great acclaim in various concert venues across Germany. As the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Flora Symphony Orchestra in Cologne for the past three seasons, he not only led exciting concerts but also worked closely with music pedagogues, reaching an unprecedented number of children through music. Moon's latest collaborations include leading the WDR Funkhausorchester in Germany, Savaria Symphony Orchestra in Hungary, and Pleven Philharmonic in Bulgaria.
Born in South Korea, Moon spent much of his childhood in the Philippines, Russia, and the United States. At the age of nine, he began cello and piano studies in Russia and has since been performing with various youth and student orchestras across the globe. As a passionate advocate for young rising artists, he was the assistant conductor to the State Youth Orchestra of Hessen. In addition, he was also the conductor of the Under-16 Orchestra of Tonhalle Düsseldorf and regularly coached the Youth Orchestra of Essen. He is the conductor of the annual European Youth Music Week where talented young musicians across Europe gather for intense music making.
A staunch believer in empowering others, Moon has actively worked with asylum seekers in Hungary, children in underserved areas of Bangladesh, and inmates in Baltimore as the president of a student organization while completing his B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
In recent years, Moon has worked with many orchestras across Europe: Duisburger Philharmoniker, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, and Bergische Symphoniker in Germany, Romanian Chamber Orchestra in Romania, Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra in Spain, Sinfonietta Cracovia in Poland, and Ruse Philharmonic in Bulgaria to name a few.
Under the tutelage of Rüdiger Bohn, Moon received his bachelor’s and master's degrees in orchestral conducting from the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, Germany. Prior to his conducting studies, he received a B.A. in music composition from Sahmyook University in South Korea. Moon has participated in renowned music festivals such as Accademia Chigiana in Italy and Bartók Festival in Hungary. His conducting mentors include Cristian Măcelaru, Peter Eötvös, Jorma Panula, and Manuel Hernandez Silva.
About Jacob Joyce
Currently serving as the Resident Conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony, Jacob Joyce, age 28, is quickly gaining recognition as a dynamic and innovative presence on the podium. Joyce appeared with the ISO several times in the '19-'20 and '20-'21 seasons, in various classical, education, Happy Hour, and community concerts. He also made his debut with several American orchestras in '19-'20, including the Detroit, St. Louis, Houston, and Toledo symphonies. Abroad, Joyce has conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, the NDR-Sinfonieorchester, the hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, and the Frankfurt Museumsorchester. For his work in Indianapolis and around the world, Joyce was awarded a Solti Career Assistance Award in 2020.
Joyce previously served as the Conducting Fellow for the Fort Worth Symphony, with whom he collaborates frequently, and has also held positions as the Associate Conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Berkeley College Orchestra, Music Director of the Opera Theater of Yale College, and Cover Conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston. An avid promoter of contemporary music, Joyce has conducted several premieres of orchestral and operatic works. Joyce is also an advocate for bringing classical music to new audiences. He is the host and creator of the podcast Attention to Detail: The Classical Music Listening Guide, which provides people of all backgrounds with basic techniques for listening to classical music. He also works extensively with educators, music teachers, and orchestra directors, providing career advice and instruction to students across the country.
Joyce studied Orchestral Conducting with Hugh Wolff at the New England Conservatory. He has also received instruction at the Tanglewood Music Center and the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. In recognition of his work, Joyce was awarded the Robert Spano Conducting Prize at Aspen, and was a semifinalist in the LSO Donatella Flick Conducting Competition and the Solti International Conducting Competition. Joyce graduated from Yale College in 2014, with a B.A. in Music and Economics. He also received a M.M. in Violin Performance from the Yale School of Music in 2015, studying with Syoko Aki.
As a violinist, Joyce has performed with several orchestras nationwide, and was awarded the Broadus Erle Prize for an Outstanding Violinist at the Yale School of Music. He served as the concertmaster of the Yale Symphony Orchestra and performed regularly with the Boston Philharmonic and the Atlantic Symphony. He has previously attended the Tanglewood Music Center, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Encore School for Strings.
About the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, known for its artistic excellence for more than 125 years, is credited with a rich history of the world’s finest conductors and musicians, and is deeply committed to Pittsburgh and its region. Since 2008, the Pittsburgh Symphony has been led by its worldwide acclaimed Music Director Manfred Honeck. Past music directors have included many of the greats, including Fritz Reiner, William Steinberg, André Previn, Lorin Maazel and Mariss Jansons. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has always been at the forefront of championing new works, including recent commissions by Mason Bates, Jonathan Leshnoff, James MacMillan and Julia Wolfe. The Pittsburgh Symphony has a long and illustrious history in the areas of recordings and live radio broadcasts dating back to the 1930s. It has toured frequently both domestically and overseas since 1900—including more than 40 international tours. The Pittsburgh Symphony continues to be critically acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest orchestras.