LARA WEBBER, CONDUCTOR
Widely admired as a dynamic, creative and engaging conductor, Lara Webber is dedicated to inspiring audiences through the power of symphonic music. She has been praised by fellow musicians around the country for her musical depth, genuine expression, strong personal vision, and collaborative spirit.
Ms. Webber brings a broad range of experience to the podium. She has held titled conducting positions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Charleston Symphony Orchestra (South Carolina), and was music director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Lara currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Livermore-Amador Symphony and the Palo Alto Philharmonic. Her career began as music director and conductor of the Los Angeles Debut Orchestra, a post previously held by such conductors as André Previn, Lawrence Foster, and Michael Tilson Thomas.
Lara Webber's activities as a guest conductor include multiple performances with orchestras around the country such as the Houston, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Louisville, Santa Barbara, Modesto, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the Chicago Sinfonietta, among several others. She has served as a cover-conductor for the San Francisco Symphony and The National Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Webber’s operatic associations include conducting posts with Glimmerglass Opera, and conductor of the Baltimore Opera Studio.
Strongly committed to arts education and community engagement, 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 millions of viewers nationwide. She has taught student conductors as a faculty member of the League of American Orchestra’s Conductor Workshops, and has coached youth orchestra and community orchestras. At home in Livermore, Lara is active in her community, bringing music to the local elementary schools, coaching chamber musicians and advocating for the arts as an essential part of the educational curriculum, and a vital part of our culture.
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. Her studies continued at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and in the conducting seminars of the both 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 recognition for her outstanding service to the community, Lara was honored with a Los Angeles City Council Resolution, upon completion of her tenure with the Debut Orchestra.