Naomi Woo, conductor

Canadian conductor & pianist Naomi Woo is a widely sought-after symphonic and operatic conductor and educator and the Music Director of NYO Canada. She also holds positions as Artistic Partner of Orchestre Métropolitain Montréal and Assistant Conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

In the 24/25 season, Naomi makes debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), the Philadelphia Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony, Luxembourg Chamber Orchestra, and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Toronto. Return engagements include the Toronto Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Vancouver Symphony, and the Orchestre Métropolitain.

Highlights of her auspicious 23-24 season included her first tour and recordings with NYO Canada in summer 2024; conducting engagements with the Orchestre Métropolitain, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, National Arts Center Orchestra, and Chautauqua Symphony; and leading opera productions with English Touring Opera and Opera Holland Park in the UK.

Engagements in previous seasons include the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Ann Arbor Symphony, Orchestra NOW (New York), Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and Regina Symphony, and her debut at LSO St. Luke’s in London with the ensemble Tangram Sound. Naomi was the assistant conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony from 2019 to 2023 and appeared with the orchestra on multiple occasions. On the opera stage, she has conducted the Canadian premiere of Du Yun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Angel’s Bone in Vancouver and the world premiere of Ellis Ludwig-Leone’s The Night Falls in New York City. In fall 2022, she assisted the world premiere of Oliver Leith’s opera Last Days at Royal Opera House Covent Garden and returned to assist Thomas Adès with the same work in its US premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The 2022 winner of the Canada Council’s prestigious Virginia Parker Prize, Naomi is a member of Tapestry Opera’s Women in Musical Leadership program and was chosen by her mentor Yannick Nézet-Séguin as a member of the Orchestre Métropolitain’s inaugural orchestral conducting academy.

Naomi holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where she was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. She has also studied mathematics, philosophy, and music at Yale College, the Yale
School of Music, and Université de Montréal.

The National Youth Orchestra of Canada

About NYO Canada Since 1960, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) has played a vital role in shaping the future of classical music in Canada. It was founded as a bridge between education and the professional stage—a place where Canada’s most promising young musicians could grow, perform, and launch careers at the highest level.

What began as a two-week summer tour has grown into the country’s most comprehensive preprofessional orchestral training program. NYO Canada offers full scholarships to musicians aged 16 to 28, delivering a transformative, tuition-free experience that encompasses the Orchestral Training Institute, NYO Canada Chamber Music Concert Series, masterclasses, wellness and career-building workshops, and a concert tour. Every orchestra member also receives a personal honorarium, made possible by the generosity of our supporters.

Guided by our esteemed faculty—renowned performers and educators from around the world—participants engage in immersive experiences that mirror the life of a professional musician, from intensive rehearsals and recording sessions to performances in Canada’s most prestigious concert halls.

Today, NYO Canada continues to be the launchpad for the next generation of orchestral excellence. Nearly one in three professional orchestral musicians in Canada is an NYO alum. With the steadfast support of the Government of Canada, our partners, funders, and passionate community of donors, NYO Canada remains a powerful force in Canada’s cultural landscape.