Taichi Fukumura is the Music Director of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and the newly appointed Assistant Conductor of The Cleveland Orchestra. A rising Japanese-American conductor acclaimed for his dynamic stage presence and musical finesse, Fukumura is the Second Prize Winner of The Mahler Competition 2023 and a four-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award 2021-2024. Previously, he served as the Assistant Conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, where he led over 110 concerts. His impressive conducting experience also includes collaborations with the Boston Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Bamberg Symphony, and Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes in Mexico.