Edwin Outwater is Music Director of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Ontario, Canada. Now in his fifth season, he has revitalized the orchestra and gained international attention for innovative projects and imaginative programs.
Outwater's recent project highlights include the launching of the Beethoven and Your Brain project with author/speaker/scientist Daniel Levitin at the Toronto Conservatory of Music; a new Schoenberg and Mason Bates program with Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto; and a concert version of H. K. Gruber’s “Frankenstein!” with author/actor Daniel Handler. He led the very first appearance of the YouTube Symphony at Carnegie Hall as one of only three conductors chosen for the event, alongside Michael Tilson Thomas and Tan Dun.
Outwater was Resident Conductor of the San Francisco Symphony from 2001-2006, accompanying the orchestra on tour and conducting numerous concerts each season. He made his subscription debut in 2002 with Kurt Masur conducting Britten’s War Requiem, and has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Evelyn Glennie, and many others.
A native of Santa Monica, California, Edwin Outwater attended Harvard University, graduating cum laude 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. He also studied music theory and composition with John Stewart, Joel Feigin, and Leonard Stein. For more information, please visit edwinoutwater.com.
