“Charismatic and clearly gifted” says the Boston Globe of Scott Parkman, the Assistant Conductor of the Saint Louis Symphony and Music Director of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. Prior to his appointment to the SLSO, Mr. Parkman held similar positions with the Oakland East Bay Symphony and Oakland Youth Orchestra.

            Recent guest conducting engagements include performances with the Minnesota Orchestra, Sacramento and Palo Alto Philharmonics, Oakland Ballet, and a return to the Oakland East Bay Symphony. Mr. Parkman has also had a long relationship with the Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, California, where he has conducted performances of Le Nozze di Figaro as well as new productions of L’elisir d’amore and Aida. He was recently selected as the sole Conducting Fellow at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center. In this capacity he led a performance with members of the Boston Symphony and conducted three concerts with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra. As Conducting Fellow, Mr. Parkman also took part in the Festival of Contemporary Music, and shared the podium with James Conlon.

            Mr. Parkman has also held the positions of Resident Conductor of the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Colorado and Apprentice Conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra. He was the rehearsal conductor for a production of Die Meistersinger at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and has assisted Christian Thielemann at the Berlin Philharmonic and Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He also recently completed a residency with the orchestra and choir of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

            Focusing on percussion and orchestra/opera conducting, Mr. Parkman earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Michigan, graduating with highest honors. He continued studies in Italian language and culture at the Centro di Cultura Italiana, in Bologna, and in conducting at the San Francisco Conservatory. His primary conducting mentors include Martin Katz, Gustav Meier, Michael Morgan, and Christian Thielemann.