Emil deCou

American conductor Emil de Cou appears regularly as guest conductor with orchestras across the United States. After serving as Associate Conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra for eight years, he was recently appointed as Music Director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, a position he started in 2011.

 

Mr. de Cou was an active participant in a wide range of National Symphony Orchestra performances and events since his debut at Wolf Trap in 2000. He formally joined the National Symphony conducting staff in 2002, and in addition to being Associate Conductor, in the summers he serves as the conductor of the NSO at the Wolf Trap Festival. In that capacity, his responsibilities include leading several of the NSO's concerts at Wolf Trap, and acting as a spokesperson for the overall summer season. He also led the Labor Day Weekend Capitol Concerts on the West Lawn of the US Capitol annually since 2002.

 

Mr. de Cou has appeared as guest conductor with many leading orchestras, including those of Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Saint Louis, Detroit, Montreal, Boston Pops, Minnesota, Denver, Portland, and San Francisco, where he also served as Principal Pops Conductor. He was acting music director for the San Francisco Ballet and conductor of the American Ballet Theatre for eight seasons conducting performances at Lincoln Center as well as national and international tours.