Conductor Rei Hotoda is redefining 21st-century orchestral leadership. She infuses each performance with bold vision and collaborative energy. Her programs—marked by compelling repertoire, deep community engagement, and steadfast advocacy for marginalized and contemporary American voices—reflect both her creative curiosity and emotional vibrancy. Also, an accomplished pianist, Hotoda brings a performer’s insight to her work on the podium, enriching her interpretations with nuance and immediacy.
Renowned for her versatility and command on the podium, Rei has guest conducted many of today’s most esteemed ensembles, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Winnipeg, St. Louis, Hawaii, San Diego, Richmond, Kansas City, and Detroit as well as the Las Vegas Philharmonic. A recent milestone was her debut at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra, where she conducted two world premieres—John Glover’s Right Now and Tonia Ko’s Her Land, Expanded—alongside the New York premiere of “Clans” from Jerod Impichcha̲achaaha' Tate’s Lowak Shoppala.
Through her imaginative programming and cross-disciplinary collaborations, Rei has established herself as a driving force in shaping a more inclusive and relevant orchestral landscape. An ardent advocate for the music of our time, she purposefully programs works that reflect the vibrant diversity of today’s composers, including Anna Clyne, Wynton Marsalis, Juan Pablo Contreras, Guillaume Connesson, Viet Cuong, Damien Geter, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Jessie Montgomery, and Dinuk Wijeratne.
Her commitment to inclusive storytelling is exemplified by Cultural Crossroads, a multi-season commissioning initiative with the Fresno Philharmonic that celebrates the cultural richness of California’s Central Valley. The series launched with the sold-out premiere of Meguru: Dreams of Harvest by Hitomi Oba and Erika Oba. Nationally, Rei also led the American Composers Orchestra’s EarShot Readings, conducting premieres by six emerging composers. Through projects like these, she champions the bold, the imaginative, and the underrepresented.
Following her recent contract renewal through the 2028–2029 season, Rei continues to deepen her impact as Music Director of the Fresno Philharmonic. Under her direction, the Philharmonic has expanded its reach, redefined the concert experience, and strengthened its ties to the diverse communities of California’s Central Valley.
The 2025–26 Fresno Philharmonic season extends that vision with programs that celebrate excellence through diversity. It opens with the orchestra’s America 250 celebration—an artistic reflection on the nation’s resilience—featuring a world premiere by composer John Wineglass, a performance of Margaret Bonds’ Montgomery Variations, and a solo appearance by GRAMMY-winning pianist Michelle Cann. Cultural Crossroads continues with Juan Pablo Contreras’s Alma Monarca, inspired by Día de los Muertos traditions and a Purépecha legend that connects monarch butterflies to the journey of the soul. The project includes a collaboration with Hui-chu Kari, a Fresno-based artist of Purépecha heritage. The season also marks the beginning of a new exploration of Sibelius’s symphonic works, launching with his Symphony No. 5.
A distinguished pianist as well as conductor, Rei brings a soloist’s perspective to her leadership on the podium. Her ability to conduct from the keyboard strengthens her connection with the orchestra and the music itself. Recent highlights include performing George Antheil’s A Jazz Symphony from the piano with the American Composers Orchestra and Jessie Montgomery’s Rounds with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. She has also led Poulenc’s Concerto for Two Pianos with the Fresno Philharmonic and Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, K. 365 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
Rei is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Horizon Award from the Fresno Arts Council, the League of Women Voters’ Equality Day Award, and the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. A recognized leader in the orchestral field, she serves on the Board of Directors for the League of American Orchestras and regularly speaks on issues of equity, artistic innovation, and leadership. Her recent engagements include panels at the 2025 League of American Orchestras National Conference, SphinxConnect 2025, the Association of California Symphony Orchestras, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Women in Classical Music Symposium.
**Rei Hotoda’s 650-wordbio was updated in June of 2025 and must be used in its entirety unless otherwise given express permission by the artist. ***
Learn more at reihotoda.com.
Rei Hotoda makes her Carnegie Hall debut along with Forrόpera (Chrystal E. Williams & Felipe Hostins).
Conductor Rei Hotoda was the score made flesh, come to transmit Shostakovich’s tragic vision of suffering and hope to her orchestra, and through them to us. Her sensitivity to dynamic levels and tone color, and her ability to vary them according to the score’s demands, are on a level occupied by the world’s finest conductors.
Hotoda’s conducting is a well-balanced mixture of freedom and control, favoring aptly drawn phrases, shape and musical line without neglecting detail. She has a meticulous ear for detail within the sweep of the music. She guided the orchestra most successfully. Hotoda’s gestural language produced a beautifully contoured performance.
Directed the orchestra with remarkable energy and precision.
Rei Hotoda had an impressively secure control of the Tchaikovsky Manfred Symphony…and again the orchestra played up a storm.
The series builds upon the Fresno Philharmonic’s pledge to incorporate new music—particularly by women and people of color—into the culture of the orchestra and, perhaps, the ethos of the city itself, something evidenced by a slew of such pieces over the past eight years programmed by Hotoda.
According to conductor Rei Hotoda, music director of the Fresno Philharmonic, concertgoers are ready to move beyond Beethoven and Brahms. She points to the New York premiere of Tate’s piece Clans, for which she conducted the American Composers Orchestra, as proof that audiences are becoming more adventurous.
Talented and poised.
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