About Jake

Jake Taniguchi is a conductor and educator originally from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Currently, he serves as the conductor for the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) New Music Ensemble and assistant conductor for the CIM Orchestra and Opera Theater. During the 2023-24 season, he will lead the CIM Orchestra in performances of major orchestral works by Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky. Concurrently, Taniguchi's leadership with the CIM New Music Ensemble will usher in the premieres of four operas crafted by the CIM composition studio, alongside works by esteemed composers Joan Tower and Christopher Cerrone.

From 2020 to 2024, Taniguchi served as principal conductor of the Hawaiʻi Chamber Music Festival (HCMF). He has also worked as an assistant and cover conductor for the Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, and Northwestern University Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Baroque Music Ensemble, and Opera Theater.

Taniguchi's guest conducting appearances include the Northwestern University Medical School Orchestra, Indiana University Symphonic and Concert Bands, Honolulu Wind Ensemble, and Hawaiʻi Youth Percussion Ensemble. He has collaborated with renowned conductors Leonard Slatkin, Dane Lam, and Anthony Parnther, as well as soloists including violinist Stefan Jackiw, pianists Sean Kennard and David Kaplan, clarinetist Yoonah Kim, and saxophonist Steven Banks. A fervent advocate for new music, he has fostered artistic partnerships with composers Marcos Balter, Sebastian Currier, Billy Childs, Keith Fitch, Christopher Cerrone, and Joan Tower, among others. 

Devoted to nurturing a lifelong enthusiasm for music, Taniguchi has worked with numerous schools, youth organizations, and educational programs, including Kamehameha Schools, Mid-Pacific Institute School of the Arts, Niu Valley Middle School, Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra, and HCMF's Young Artist Program.

Taniguchi completed his undergraduate studies in bassoon and conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (IU), followed by a master's degree in orchestral conducting from the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, where he had the privilege of being one of the final students of the esteemed Victor Yampolsky. Currently, he is continuing his studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the guidance of the acclaimed JoAnn Falletta. In the fall, Taniguchi will return to IU to begin his Doctor of Music in orchestral conducing with Arthur Fagen, Jeffery Meyer, and Thomas Wilkins.

April 2024

PC: Timothy Bates Photography