Music Director, John Masko

Rhode Island native John Masko is a rapidly rising orchestral conductor who works with professional and semi-professional orchestras around the U.S. and the world. He is currently music director of the Providence Medical Orchestra and frequently serves as assistant and cover conductor with orchestras including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Landmarks Orchestra. A leader in the field of medical professions orchestras, John founded the National Virtual Medical Orchestra, an online ensemble of medical professionals from around the country.

John holds a master's degree in conducting from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Dr. Eric Dudley. He has also studied conducting with Charles Peltz at New England Conservatory. John has conducted in masterclasses led by Cristian Măcelaru, Rüdiger Bohn, Sian Edwards, Paavo Järvi, and Jorma Panula, and has assisted conductors including Michael Tilson Thomas, Krzysztof Urbanski, Cristian Măcelaru, and Osmo Vänskä. In the U.S., he has conducted the Charleston (South Carolina) Symphony Orchestra and the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, and internationally, he has conducted orchestras including the Lithanian State Symphony Orchestra in Vilnius, Lithuania; the Camerata Antonio Soler in El Escorial, Spain, the Romanian Chamber Orchestra in Timișoara, Romania, and the Filarmonica Mihail Jora in Bacău, Romania.

An enthusiastic advocate for new music, John has served as conducting fellow at the Atlantic Music Festival in Waterville, Maine. He has conducted numerous premieres, including recent premieres of works by Robert Ruohola and Oana Vardianu.

Outside of music, he fancies himself maker of the best gumbo north of the Mason Dixon Line and is a devotee of the novels of Thomas Hardy.