Widely recognized early in her career as one of the most talented and versatile conductors of her generation, Lara Webber has led many major American orchestras in a broad range of repertoire. She most recently held the positions of assistant and then associate conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In that role, Ms. Webber programmed and conducted over 80 concerts annually, including classical subscription programs, educational, pops and community concerts. Prior to her appointment with the BSO, she was associate conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (South Carolina), and a recurring guest conductor of the Houston and San Antonio symphonies. Ms. Webber previously served as music director and conductor of the Los Angeles Debut Orchestra. Strongly committed to arts education, Ms. Webber was a conductor of the Emmy-nominated Disney’s Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra. These concerts were broadcast nationally by the Disney Channel to more than 50 million viewers nationwide.

Ms. Webber’s activities as a guest conductor include performances with the symphony orchestras of Annapolis, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Louisville, Colorado Springs, Modesto, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the Chicago Sinfonietta. She has served as a cover-conductor for the San Francisco Symphony. Ms. Webber’s operatic activities include posts as the assistant conductor at Glimmerglass Opera, and conductor of the Baltimore Opera Studio. She has taught student conductors as a faculty member of the League of American Orchestra’s Conductor Workshops, and has coached youth community orchestras.

Ms. Webber began her conducting studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with Robert Spano, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance in 1991. She continued her studies at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and participated in the conducting seminars of the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals. Ms. Webber received her Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Daniel Lewis. In 1996, Ms. Webber was among the first conductors selected to participate in The League of American Orchestra’s National Conductor Preview.