Akiko Fujimoto

Conductor Akiko Fujimoto is known for evoking dynamic and powerful performances through her expressive and sincere leadership style. Fujimoto is currently in her fourth season as Music Director of the Mid-Texas Symphony serving New Braunfels, the second fastest growing city in the United States. She has held titled conducting positions with three important American orchestras – Minnesota Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, and Virginia Symphony – as well as conducted numerous orchestras across the U.S. including the San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony, Houston Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Vermont Symphony, and Arkansas Symphony among others.

In the 2022/23 season, Fujimoto makes her debut with the Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra leading a program of Mason Bates’ Alternative Energy and Carmina Burana with the O’ahu Choral Society. She leads the Mid-Texas Symphony as Music Director in six concerts and will make a return to lead the Arkansas Symphony.

During the 2021/22 season, Fujimoto made her debut with the San Francisco Symphony, leading a “powerhouse performance” (San Francisco Chronicle) of Florence Price’s Symphony No. 3, and conducted two world premieres: Tania León’s Pasaje with the Arkansas Symphony and Suad Bushnaq’s Cello Concerto with the Vermont Symphony. Fujimoto also made returns to the Florida Orchestra and Virginia Symphony.

At the Minnesota Orchestra, Fujimoto held the title of Associate Conductor and conducted a variety of concerts including Sommerfest, pops, and education, and worked closely with Music Director Osmo Vänskä. She also worked with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Zubin Mehta, and Susanna Mälkki as a cover conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. As Conducting Associate of the Virginia Symphony, Fujimoto worked alongside JoAnn Falletta and conducted subscription, education, community concerts, and more.

Highlights in her role of Associate Conductor at the San Antonio Symphony included a gala concert featuring violinist Gil Shaham and fully staged ballet productions of Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet and Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. She earned wide praise for connecting with audiences through her on-stage presentations and weekly pre-concert lectures, as well as her successful collaborations with a variety of organizations including Mariachi Campanas de America, Guadalupe Dance Company, U.S. Air Force Band of the West, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Mass Choir.

Fujimoto began her career conducting at Harvard University and Stanford University and served as the Director of Orchestras at the College of William & Mary and Music Director of the Williamsburg Youth Orchestras.

Born in Japan, Fujimoto holds a bachelor’s degree in music and psychology from Stanford University and Master of Music degrees in conducting from Boston University and the Eastman School of Music.