Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Hires Two Assistant Conductors

South Korean conductor Moon Doh, 35, and American conductor Jacob Joyce, 28, will join the orchestra for a two-year term

Doh and Joyce will succeed former Associate Conductor Earl Lee and former Resident Conductor Andrés Franco.

They will assist 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 community performances.

In addition, Joyce will become Music Director of the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, one of the oldest youth orchestras in the country.

“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, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's President and CEO.

Currently, Joyce serves as resident conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony, appearing several times in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. Joyce studied Orchestral Conducting with Hugh Wolff at the New England Conservatory. 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 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. Joyce will make his Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra debut on November 20, 2021, on the orchestra’s "Light Up Night" program.

"I am excited and honored to be joining the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, an orchestra that I have admired since I was a child," said Joyce. "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."

Doh is currently the artistic director and conductor of the Flora Symphony Orchestra in Cologne. Most recently, Doh worked with orchestras such as the WDR Funkhausorchester in Germany, Savaria Symphony Orchestra in Hungary, and Pleven Philharmonic in Bulgaria. A recipient of the Takaya Urakawa Foundation Grant, he was the assistant conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Hessen and conductor of the Under-16 Orchestra of Tonhalle Düsseldorf. He also has actively worked with asylum seekers in Hungary, children in underserved areas of Bangladesh, and inmates in Baltimore while completing his B.A. in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Doh will join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in January 2022.

"It is quite surreal, that I am gifted this opportunity to work with Maestro Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for two seasons," said Doh. "I can hardly wait to share this gift with the Pittsburgh audiences."