ABOUT JOSH
Praised for conducting with “steady acumen and considerable aplomb” and “awesome control” (Opera Today), Joshua Horsch is an extremely versatile operatic and symphonic conductor. A two-time winner of the American Prize in Opera Conducting Joshua serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Opera Las Vegas. Joshua’s recent and upcoming conducting engagements include appearances with Washington National Opera, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Idaho, Opera Baltimore, Greensboro Opera, and Tri-Cities Opera.
With a diverse repertoire of over sixty operas and a broad spectrum of orchestral and choral works, Joshua has recently held positions as a conductor/coach/chorus master on the music staff of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, North Carolina Opera, Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, Fort Worth Opera, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Colorado Music Festival. Joshua’s guest and workshop conducting includes work with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Omaha Symphony, the Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus, the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquestra Filharmonia de Chihuahua, the Lyatoshinsky Chamber Orchestra, the Newport Music Festival, the Colorado New Music Ensemble, the PENDULUM New Music Ensemble, the Boston Opera Collaborative, and the Boulder Bach Festival.
As a dedicated interpreter of new works, Joshua has enjoyed frequent collaborations with many of today’s leading composers including Tom Cipullo, Jennifer Higdon, Libby Larsen, Evan Mack, Ricky Ian Gordon, Evan Snyder, Scott Eyerly, and Paul Fowler. At Opera Las Vegas, Joshua has been instrumental in the development of their award-winning Living Composers and Librettists initiative, which has been selected for four consecutive NEA awards. For two seasons, Joshua served as Music Director/Conductor of the CU New Opera Workshop where he collaborated with composers Libby Larsen and Alberto Caruso as well as author Colm Tóibín and stage director Ron Daniels. For four seasons, Joshua served as conductor/co-founder of the Colorado New Music Ensemble where he programmed and conducted works ranging from John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 2 to Susan Botti’s chamber opera Telaio: Desdemona. While a Festival Artist/Conductor at the Newport Music Festival, Joshua conducted members of the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Providence Singers in a series of contemporary choral/orchestral masterworks.
AMERICAN PRIZE
Joshua Horsch is the winner of the 2017 & 2019 American Prize in Opera Conducting.
The American Prize is a series of new, non-profit national competitions in the performing arts providing cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances by ensembles and individuals each year in the United States.
With a commitment to education and community engagement, Joshua served as Music Director/Conductor of the University of Colorado-Boulder Campus Orchestra, Guest Conductor for the University of Colorado-Boulder Eklund Opera Program, Music Director/Coach of the award-winning Pensacola Opera Artist-in-Residence Program, Music Director of the University of Colorado Opera Theatre Singers, Guest Conductor of the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestras, and Music Director/Conductor of the Portsmouth Abbey Youth Orchestras and Choirs. During multiple concert tours of South America, Joshua led master classes and conducting seminars with the Orquesta Académica de Tarija. Additionally, Joshua has presented masterclasses for Opera Orlando, the University of Mobile, University of Southern Alabama, and University of West Florida.
Joshua has been fortunate to study with some of the world’s leading conducting pedagogues including Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier, Larry Rachleff, Helmuth Rilling, Gary Lewis, Nicholas Carthy, Markand Thakar, Donald Schleicher, Gerardo Edelstein, and Jeffrey Grogan. Joshua studied conducting and piano at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Pennsylvania State University, and Ithaca College.