Huang Ruo Named Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Composer in Residence

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and Music Director Jaime Martín have announced the appointment of Huang Ruo as the orchestra’s Composer in Residence, underwritten by June and Simon K.C. Li, for a three-year tenure beginning in fall 2025 and concluding in spring 2028.

The Asian-American composer, celebrated for his vibrant and inventive musical voice, has been hailed for having “a distinctive style.” (The New York Times). Huang Ruo draws equal inspiration from ancient Chinese music, Chinese folk music, Western avant-garde, experimental, noise, natural and processed sound, rock, and jazz. He integrates these disparate musical styles in a seamless, organic manner using a compositional technique that Huang Ruo calls “dimensionalism,” which melds space, time, sound, and integrates multi-cultural inspirations.

“On behalf of everyone at Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, we are pleased to welcome Huang Ruo as our Composer in Residence,” says Martín. “A singular artist, Ruo creates compelling genre-spanning work. We look forward to collaborating with him on exciting new musical frontiers.”

Huang Ruo says, “What drew me to want to become part of the LACO Family, is its excellency, innovation, and openness to new ideas and inspirations from other cultures.”

  

During his tenure, Huang Ruo will compose for LACO a new chamber symphony, which will be premiered at Colburn School’s Kohl Hall in the 2027/2028 season, the third and final year of his residency when LACO is slated to make its highly anticipated permanent move into the downtown LA venue, currently under construction. Huang Ruo will spend the years leading up to that getting to know the orchestra, serving in a curatorial role as part of the artistic leadership team, and stewarding LACO Sound Investment, a groundbreaking program the orchestra established in 2001 that engages audience members in the support of developing of new classical works. He will also curate LACO’s 2026/2027 CURRENT series, musical programs that take a deep dive into specific themes and are performed in non-traditional venues. Huang Ruo will serve as an advisor to LACO’s teaching artists and participate in a range of panels and community outreach programs as well.

In addition, LACO will present some of Huang Ruo's existing works during his residency, including, in March 2026, as part of its 2025/26 Season, his gripping climate crisis symphony Tipping Point, co-commissioned by the orchestra. Inspired specifically by the wildfires that have raged in Hawaii and California in recent years, the 21-minute work emphasizes nature’s beauty and the urgent need to protect the environment from climate change. The other co-commissioners include Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra, and China NCPA Orchestra. Tipping Point was premiered by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in February 2023.

During the current 2024/25 season, as LACO’s Composer in Residence Designate, Huang Ruo is serving in an advisory capacity with a particular focus on helping LACO to identify living composers and other contemporary artists for the orchestral collaborations. 

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