Haydn’s Symphony No. 88 in G Major literally came to life with Maestro Passmore at the helm. A truly exciting rendition that earned a well-deserved standing ovation."
- The Oak Ridger (TN)
“Ian Passmore proves himself to be a powerful Brahms conductor, with a fine intuitive sense of ‘push-me-pull-you’ and a palpable enjoyment of the music's dramatic ebb and flow, allowing climaxes plenty of space to expand and fall away. This impression is confirmed by a warm accompaniment to the Bruch Scottish Fantasy. And flexible rhythm is of course the name of the game in Bernstein's On The Town, where Passmore exhibits the sort of intuitive ability to sashay which makes us American.”
- Steven Kruger (Fanfare)
More about Ian
If you think conductors are stuffy and unapproachable, Ian Passmore will change your mind. The Filipino-American maestro is as comfortable grabbing a beer with you after the concert as he is commanding the stage — warm, down-to-earth, and driven by an unshakeable belief that classical music should be for everyone. Fanfare magazine has called him "a rising young conductor," and his unapologetically Romantic performances of the standard repertoire harken back to a bygone generation of conductors, delivered with energy and authenticity that makes every concert feel alive.
In July 2026, Ian assumed the Music Directorship of the Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestra. His inaugural season is as wide-ranging as his passions — from choral masterworks and symphonic warhorses to an interactive family concert and a Mozart evening featuring pianist Spencer Myer. Elsewhere, he returns to the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra in Winston-Salem and makes his debut with the Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra as a Music Director candidate.
Following two seasons as the Omaha Symphony's Assistant Conductor, Ian was named its Associate Conductor in 2019 — a position created for the first time in the orchestra's 100-year history. He has since led programs with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Louisiana Philharmonic orchestras, the symphony orchestras of Kansas City, North Carolina, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Delaware, Winston-Salem, and Great Falls; the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Vietnam's Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra. Ian served as one of the conducting team for Soho Live's Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons World Tour last season. Invited back this season, he conducts selected performances of both the Undertale: The Determination Symphony and World of Warcraft: 20 Years of Music World Tours, bringing full orchestral productions to concert halls and major venues across the United States and beyond.
Ian holds a Doctor of Music in Orchestral Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he trained as the final student of legendary conducting pedagogue David Effron; he also studied with Arthur Fagen. He was the inaugural recipient of the Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Delaware, studying with James Allen Anderson, and completed additional studies at UNC Chapel Hill with Tonu Kalam. He received his Bachelor of Arts from UNC Greensboro, where he studied with the late Robert Gutter. He previously led the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra and Youth Camerata, and served as Associate Instructor of Orchestral Conducting at Indiana University; his private students have earned acceptance to Indiana University, the Conservatoire de musique de Lyon, and the Aspen Music Festival & School.
Off the podium, Ian is a self-described mobile tech obsessive who swaps smartphones roughly once a month, and an unabashed true crime podcast devotee. He is equally passionate about good food, craft beer, road biking, and CrossFit. He lives in North Carolina with his wife, Dianna Fiore, and their two golden retrievers, Belle and Heidi. Ian Passmore is represented by Parker Artists of New York and is a performing artist for Work of Art Custom Batons. Learn more at dogdadmaestro.com.
Ian Passmore is a rising young conductor, and his Indiana University Symphony Orchestra is fully professional here and beautifully engaged. It counts for a lot when a happy combination of microphones meets players this determined to create beauty. The bass is room-caressing, high strings satiny, and the performance aglow. That’s what stopped me dead in my tracks to write this review. Passmore doesn’t press forward with unneeded aggression. The music simply unfolds.”
- New York Arts