Huang Ruo. Photo by Max Lee.

Huang Ruo has been named composer in residence at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), with a three-year tenure running from Fall 2025 to Spring 2028. Huang Ruo draws equal inspiration from ancient Chinese music, Chinese folk music, Western avant-garde, experimental, noise, natural and processed sound, rock, and jazz. He will compose a new chamber symphony for LACO, to be premiered in the 2027-28 season. He will spend the years leading up to that getting to know the orchestra, serving in a curatorial role as part of the artistic leadership team, and stewarding the LACO Sound Investment program, which engages audiences in developing new classical works. He will also curate LACO’s 2026-27 CURRENT series of musical programs that explore specific themes and are performed in non-traditional venues. LACO will present some of Huang Ruo’s existing works during his residency, including his climate-crisis symphony Tipping Point, co-commissioned by the orchestra. Huang Ruo’s music has been performed by orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, National Polish Radio Orchestra, Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. Huang Ruo was the first composer-in-residence of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He is also in residence at the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan.