Yudai Ueda

Guest Conductor

Yudai Ueda is the music director of the LendAnEar Ensemble and assistant conductor of the Tucson Repertory Orchestra. In 2017, Ueda began his tenure with the Tucson Repertory Orchestra, a symphony orchestra specializing in reading and performing the standard orchestral repertoire. In 2014, Ueda founded LendAnEar to perform contemporary and diverse compositions rarely performed in concert halls. Both groups consist of highly skilled professional and community musicians in Arizona.

Ueda’s teaching experience includes eight years at the University of Arizona, contributing to the growth and development of young musicians, many of whom have led successful careers. From 2021 to 2023, Ueda directed the University of Arizona Philharmonic and assisted with the Arizona Symphony Orchestra as a doctoral conductor. In this role, he conducted the performances of Mozart’s Il Nozze di Figaro and Puccini’sGianni Schicchi. From 2015 to 2021, he served on the faculty as the Assistant Director of Bands, directing bands and teaching courses in conducting, leadership, and music education. As a strong advocate for music education, Ueda frequently visits public schools as a clinician-conductor, guest-conducts honor ensembles, and adjudicates for music festivals. He has also presented at state music education conferences, led conducting workshops for directors, organized community outreach events, and guest-lectured nationally.

In the summer of 2024, Ueda made his Japan debut in Tokyo and Hiroshima, conducting the Tucson Repertory Orchestra and collaborating with musicians from local orchestras. In 2023, he was invited to the College Orchestra Directors Association Conference Conducting Masterclass to work with Teddy Abrams, the conductor of the Louisville Orchestra.

Before his doctoral studies, Ueda studied orchestral conducting in New York and Vienna. After a conducting fellowship in Vienna, he served as the director of the orchestra program for the Vienna Summer Music Festival. While studying with musicians affiliated with the Vienna State Opera and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (previously Vienna Conservatory), he assisted VSMF’s opera productions, including Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, and works by Puccini. Ueda received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Arizona, studying with Dr. Thomas Cockrell, and his Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting and Bachelor of Music Education from Northern Arizona University.