American conductor Charles Latshaw is in his seventh season as Music Director of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra in Arizona and maintains his position as Music Director of the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra in Colorado, a post he has held since 2016.

In 2023, Latshaw won the 2nd Prize and Audience Choice in the Orchestra’s Conductor competition in Ploie?ti, Romania. Prior to 2016 Latshaw was director of the Kent Blossom Music Festival and the Kent State University Orchestra and formerly Artistic Director and Conductor of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra in Indiana.  Latshaw has also held positions with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, the Washington Sinfonietta and the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra.  He holds the distinction of being selected by members of the Vienna Philharmonic as their Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellow in 2007. He has conducted orchestras internationally in Spain and Romania, and across the USA including the Cincinnati Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Evansville Philharmonic, Amarillo Symphony, Portland (ME) Symphony, Jackson (TN) Symphony, Erie Chamber Orchestra, BlueWater Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, Butler County (PA) Symphony, Holland (MI) Symphony, and more.  

Firmly dedicated to bringing orchestral music to new audiences, particularly the young, he has taught band, choir, general music and musical theatre to students of all ages. In this capacity he served as faculty for numerous summer programs including the Rocky Ridge Music Center, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic Strings Camp and the Palace Theatre summer programs. Additionally, he has led “Side by Side” concerts for high school students with the Indianapolis Symphony, the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra.

In his efforts to expand audiences for newly-created, accessible contemporary compositions, Latshaw has premiered more than thirty new works for chamber groups, youth orchestras and full symphony orchestras, many of his own commissioning.

Off the podium, he has held positions as principal trumpet in orchestras in Ohio, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, performing also with jazz bands as trumpeter, vocalist and band leader.   On the stage he has appeared in acting and singing roles with the Palace Professional Theatre of Manchester and the New Hampshire State Opera.  These various activities have led to touring in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and the U.S.

Charles Latshaw holds a master’s and doctorate degree in instrumental conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Now living in Colorado with his wife Kelley, they spend their free time in the woods, camping, hiking and skiing in the beauty of the Rockies.