Taking the lead: Orchestral Conducting student raises baton at CCM and beyond

This is not his first experience with Cincinnati Opera; for several seasons, Langley has been involved with the company through its Opera Fusion: New Works initiative, which is a collaborative effort with CCM supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He also participated in last summer’s production of Blind Injustice, which was presented by Cincinnati Opera in partnership with the Ohio Innocence Project, CCM and the Young Professionals Choral Collective.

“One part of the job is being ready at a moment’s notice to step in for a rehearsal or performance should the maestro be unable to make it. An assistant conductor has to be quick on their feet and a total team player, as your job is all about making everyone else’s a little easier,” Langley says about his new position.

“From being the ears in the hall for the maestri and singers to conducting backstage during the performances and being ready to step in, there’s never a dull moment.”

Long before coming to Cincinnati, Langley knew he wanted to become an orchestral conductor– even when he was a 10-year-old in Memphis, Tennessee. During his time as an undergraduate at the University of Memphis, Langley founded the Memphis Repertory Orchestra, whose mission is to “shape the next generation of orchestral musicians” through free concerts of major orchestral works. The ensemble has released two albums and presents about five concerts per season in its residency in the Buckman Performing Arts Center. Despite the distance, Langley still serves as the orchestra’s music director.

In 2019, the American Austrian Foundation and members of the Vienna Philharmonic selected Langley as a recipient of its Young Conductors Fellowship, which is presented in conjunction with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Salzburg Music Festival. For five weeks last summer, Langley lived and studied in Salzburg, where he was granted access to the rehearsals and concerts of some of Europe’s greatest orchestras and conductors.

The previous year, Langley made his Carnegie Hall conducting debut with All of the Above, a new-music ensemble featuring CCM alumni. For even more CCM flair, the group performed a work by CCM’s Norman Dinerstein Professor of Composition Scholar, Douglas Knehans.

Although there can be little doubt that Langley’s own work ethic and perseverance are responsible for a great deal of his successes, he is confident that CCM has helped him turn his dreams into realities.