About

Giang Vo is a first-generation Vietnamese American conductor based in Chicago. He holds a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from Northwestern University, where he studied with Donald Schleicher, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Oklahoma City University, where he studied under Dr. Benjamin Shute. His conducting mentors also include Benjamin Manis, Andrew Megill, Jeffrey Grogan and Alexander Mickelthwate.

Giang made his operatic debut assisting Benjamin Manis, former Resident Conductor of Houston Grand Opera, in Northwestern Opera Theater’s production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte, culminating in his conducting of the final performance to great enthusiasm. Following the success of Così fan tutte, he was invited and served as music director for the company’s fall production of Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. He also led NU OPUS’s (Opera Projects for Undergraduate Singers) production of Xavier Montsalvatge’s El Gato con Botas. Giang continued his assistant work with Music on Site’s production Le nozze di Figaro, under Maestro Robert Kahn, as well as Berlin Opera Academy’s production of Cendrillon.

As an amateur composer, Giang has sought to blend Vietnamese musical language and culture with the Western classical styles. Growing up as a member of the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association, Giang was immersed in musical and rhythmic traditions rooted in Vietnamese folk and popular music. He participated in various performances as a violinist and a drummer with the Youth Group’s Lion Dance Team. To this end, he has written works inspired by Vietnamese literature and has combined elements of his upbringing in the Buddhist Youth Association with his Western musical training as a violinist. As a passionate advocate for music as a cornerstone of the community, Giang has organized an annual summer orchestra, now in its 5th summer, that brings together both amateur and professional musicians from the Oklahoma City area, providing accessible musical performance to a growing audience.

Giang was recently appointed Music Director of the University of Chicago’s Chamber Orchestra (‘26-’27).