Norman Huynh is in his second season as Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Associate Conductor for the Oregon Symphony. In this position he is responsible for conducting family, youth education and specials concerts, as well as assisting for the masterworks series.
In 2015, Norman shared the podium with New York Philharmonic Music Director Emeritus, Kurt Masur at the Manhattan School of Music. Subsequently, he was awarded the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Scholarship. As part of this award, Norman studied privately with the late maestro at his home in Leipzig, culminating in a concert with the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra.
Prior to moving to Oregon, Norman served as the Assistant Conductor for the Portland Symphony Orchestra in Maine from 2013-2016. Through this position, he visited over sixty schools and implemented Symphony and Spirits, a series that has brought over 500 new concert-goers under the age of forty to PSO performances. In his final season, Norman was notified last minute to conduct a masterworks concert which the Portland Press Herald stated, "Overall, he had the orchestra sounding warm and robust, and he created a strong parting impression of a young conductor with clear ability and a strong interpretive will.."
Throughout his career, Norman has conducted the Baltimore Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Macon Symphony and Peabody Symphony Orchestra. Most recently he was a conducting fellow at the 2016 Aspen Music Festival and School under the tutelage of Robert Spano. He has served as an assistant conductor for Spoleto Festival U.S.A., Opera Carolina, the Lyric Opera of Baltimore, Peabody Opera Theatre, and The Peabody Singers. During the 2011-2013 seasons, Norman was a cover conductor for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra working with Music Director Marin Alsop and Guest Conductors Juanjo Mena, Vasily Petrenko and Christoph König.In the summer of 2014, Norman was a participant at the Tanglewood Music Center's Conducting Seminar with Stefan Asbury. In 2010 and 2011, Norman won the International Conducting Workshop and Competition held in Macon, Georgia.
In 2012, Norman co-founded the Occasional Symphony, an organization that spreads orchestral music throughout the city of Baltimore. Occasional Symphony performs on holidays by presenting innovative programs that resonate with its eclectic venue (such as a concert celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday in a children’s museum or a silent-film Halloween concert in an abandoned church). One of Norman’s greatest passions is educating the next generation of musicians and music lovers. With an extensive background in music education, he develops youth concerts to provide a tailored and meaningful experience for concertgoers of all ages. His performances have been nationally broadcasted on American Public Media's Performance Today.
Norman studied orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University working with Gustav Meier, Markand Thakar, Edward Polochick and Marin Alsop. He received his B.S. in Music Education at the University of Alabama. Previous teachers include John Ratledge, Demondrae Thurman and Adrian Gnam.