Edwin Outwater is Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony. As Resident Conductor, he works closely with Michael Tilson Thomas, accompanying the Orchestra on tour and conducting numerous concerts each season. Mr. Outwater made his subscription concert debut with the San Francisco Symphony in October 2002, conducting the chamber ensemble in Britten’s War Requiem as he shared the podium with Kurt Masur, and he led the full orchestra in subscription performances in December of that year, in a program featuring the American premiere of Robin Holloway’s Viola Concerto. He also leads gala concerts for the New Year’s Eve and Chinese New Year holidays, and conducts throughout the SFS Summer in the City series. In October 2003 he led subscription concerts with soloist Evelyn Glennie, in the West Coast premiere of Chen Yi’s Percussion Concerto, and conducted the orchestra with cellist Yo-Yo Ma in a special concert tribute to the late Agnes Albert. During the 2003-2004 season, Mr. Outwater stepped in on two subscription programs for an ailing Michael Tilson Thomas, conducting performances of Stravinsky’s complete Pulcinella, as well as works by Beethoven and Cherubini.

From 2001-2005 Mr. Outwater was Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. During his tenure, he led the orchestra in all of their concerts as well as on tour to Europe in the summer of 2004. During the tour, the orchestra made its debut at Vienna’s Musikverein, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and returned to Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

In North America, Mr. Outwater has appeared as guest conductor with Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Colorado Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Honululu Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, New Mexico Symphony, Alabama Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Symphony. Internationally, he as appeared with the Orchestre de Bretagne, the Adelaide Symphony, and the National Youth Orchestra of New Zealand.

In the 2005-2006 season Mr. Outwater will debut with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Elgin Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Portland (ME) Symphohy, Toledo Symphony, and the Festival-Institue at Round Top.

Before joining the San Francisco Symphony, Mr. Outwater served as Resident Conductor and Associate Guest Conductor of the Florida Philharmonic. He has also held posts as Associate Conductor of the Festival-Institute at Round Top (a renowned music-training program based in Texas), Principal Conductor of the Adriatic Chamber Music Festival in Molise, Italy, and Assistant Conductor of the Tulsa Philharmonic.

Mr. Outwater’s work in music education and community outreach has been widely acclaimed. In 2004 his education programs were given the Leonard Bernstein award for excellence in educational programming, and his Chinese New Year Program was given the MET LIFE award for community outreach. At the San Francisco Symphony, he conducts Family Concerts, Adventures in Music performances, which are heard by more than 25,000 students from San Francisco schools each year, and Concerts for Kids, which serve students from throughout Northern California. In Florida, Mr. Outwater designed the Florida Philharmonic Family Series and its Music for Youth program, which was heard annually by more than 40,000 fifth-grade students in South Florida. He appears frequently with youth orchestras throughout the United States and across the world. Mr. Outwater has served as music director of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, and has been on the faculties of the University of Tulsa, the Idyllwild Arts Academy, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

A native of Santa Monica, California, Edwin Outwater attended Harvard University, graduating cum laude in 1993 with a degree in English literature. While at Harvard, he was music director of the Bach Society Orchestra and wrote the music for the 145th annual production of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. He received his master's degree in conducting from UC Santa Barbara, where he studied with Heiichiro Ohyama, and Paul Polivinick.