Britt Festival Orchestra welcomes new Music Director Norman Huynh to the podium
Published 1:00 pm Monday, August 25, 2025
Norman Huynh is set to be the fifth music director to lead the Britt Festival Orchestra in its 62-year history, bringing his energetic style and charm to the podium.
“I’m just filled with gratitude to be a part of an organization with such rich history and camaraderie,” Huynh said. “The orchestra is so good and full of incredible musicians and people love coming to Jacksonville every summer … they’ve formed a tight-knit community in the orchestra and you can hear that and see that when they play.”
Huynh’s first taste of the local orchestra was in the summer of 2023 when he came to the Britt Pavilion to guest conduct “The Princess Bride: In Concert.”
“I got a call maybe the day before or two days before the concert date,” Huynh said. “I had just recently done ‘The Princess Bride’ with the Oregon Symphony and I thought, ‘Oh sure, I’ve heard of Britt and (former music director) Teddy (Abrams),’ but I didn’t really know in terms of the level and quality of the orchestra.”
“I went and conducted the dress rehearsal (the morning of the show) and was immediately blown away,” he added. “Knowing the musicians and where they come from, it felt very easy right from the beginning and a sign that the orchestra’s very good.”
Charmed by the venue and the picturesque backdrop of the Rogue Valley as well as the Britt organization and historic town of Jacksonville, Huynh, after hearing that BFO was looking for a new leader to take up the mantle, said he knew he had to apply for the music director role.
After a two-year search, Huynh was announced as BFO’s new music director to replace Abrams — for a three-year term — in early August.
“It’s a tremendous honor to announce him as the next leader of this fabulous orchestra, where he’ll carry on the incredible legacies of previous Music Directors Teddy Abrams, Peter Bay, James DePriest and Britt’s founder, John Trudeau,” said Abby McKee, president and CEO of Britt Music & Arts Festival.
Huynh’s role will include being the artistic leader of BFO’s three-week summer season, shaping long-term artistic planning with new programs in close collaboration with Britt’s leadership and artistic teams, combining work to reach and inspire audiences across the region, serving as a key ambassador for Britt and its orchestra with community engagement, education and other initiatives.
Revered for his dynamic conducting style, innovative programming and ability to connect with concert-goers of all ages and experience levels, Huynh has conducted prestigious orchestras across the U.S., Europe and Asia, including the Oregon Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Huynh has also been the music director for the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra in Montana since 2020, during which time the ensemble has experienced record success, growing its subscriber base by 54% and driving ticket revenue up more than 200%.
Prior to his role with the BSO, Huynh was an associate conductor for the Oregon Symphony and assistant conductor of the Portland (Maine) Symphony Orchestra, where he launched the “Symphony and Spirits” concert series for under-40 audiences and the PSO Explorers Program, which earned Huynh and the orchestra the 2015 Yale Distinguished Music Educator Award in recognition of his innovative approach to music education.
Huynh’s hiring coincides with Britt’s “Next Big Dream” multi-year strategic plan centered on innovation, impact and an inclusive approach to audience development.
“My goal is to find a path for everyone in the community to connect with the orchestra, not just through the classical repertoire,” Huynh said. “I like to think of the orchestra as a chameleon in terms of what we can do.”
Huynh was born and raised in Alabama to immigrant parents from Taiwan and Vietnam, spending time as a kid in his family’s buffet restaurant and not truly being exposed to the world of music until his cousin brought home a trombone when he was in fifth grade.
“It felt very easy and natural to me and I was totally engrossed by it,” he said of the brass instrument.
Huynh continued pursuing music through high school and into college with plans of becoming a band director until a particular piece of music struck him at his core, changing his career trajectory.
“Once I heard Gustav Maller’s ‘Symphony No. 2,’ that was a life-changing moment for me; instead of going to be a band director, I wanted to work at the highest level conducting the best orchestral music like I’d just heard,” he said.
To learn more about the Britt Festival Orchestra, visit britt.org/britt-orchestra.
For further information on Huynh, see normanconductor.com.
Reach reporter James Sloan at [email protected].
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source rv-times.com ’
