Charles currently serves as Music Director of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Partner for the Washington Sinfonietta, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra in Washington, DC. He has held conducting fellowship positions with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2007 and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. Charles was Assistant Conductor to the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and Music Director of their youth orchestras from 2004-2009.
Comfortable in many idioms, Latshaw has held the position of principal trumpet in orchestras in Ohio, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He has performed with jazz/big bands as a trumpet player, vocalist, and band leader. He has appeared in acting or singing roles with the Palace Professional Theater of Manchester and the New Hampshire State Opera. Performance tours have brought him to Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, as well as across the United States.
Latshaw is firmly dedicated to bringing orchestral music to new and broader audiences. After graduating from the Ohio State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, he taught band, choir, general music, and musical theater to students in New England and the Midwest. In the summer, Charles serves on faculty at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado. He has led “Side by Side” concerts for high school students with the Indianapolis Symphony, Columbus Philharmonic, and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra. He also holds a Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with David Effron, Thomas Baldner, Imre Pallo, and John Poole, and served as assistant conductor to Mario Venzago, David Robertson, and Giancarlo Guerrero.
An enthusiastic advocate of new music, Latshaw enjoys programming accessible and exciting modern works, often of his own commission. He has premiered over twenty new pieces for ensembles ranging from chamber groups, to youth orchestras, to full symphonies.
Latshaw is also committed to innovative musical outreach. He was one of the first conductors to reach out to audiences through the Internet. His conducting performances on Youtube.com have been viewed over 750,000 times, and he has a loyal following of subscribers to his performance videos.
When he isn’t conducting or studying scores, Charles is an avid culinary experimenter, as both a cheese maker and a bread baker. He spends as much time as he can in the woods–camping, hiking and skiing. Charles lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife, Kelley, and their dog, Lenny.
