Highly regarded for his exhilarating score interpretations, advocacy for music accessibility, innate passion, and entrepreneurial spirit, Devin Patrick Hughes is an American orchestral and operatic conductor of Irish and Guatemalan descent. He is concurrently serving as Artistic Director & Conductor of the Symphony of the Rockies, and Music Director and Conductor of the Boulder Symphony & Music Academy. Previously he has held artistic leadership positions with the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Youth Symphony Association, Denver Young Artists Orchestra, and Denver Philharmonic Orchestra. He can hosts One Symphony, an award-winning podcast that explores the relevance of classical music in our lives.

Devin was recently one of three Americans invited to the Erich Bergel International Conducting Competition in Romania, the Antal Dorati Conducting Competition in Hungary, and featured in Maestro, the Solti International Conducting Competition as a semi-finalist in Budapest. Selected as only one of twelve conductors worldwide, he competed in in the Toscanini International Conducting Competition in Italy and was a conducting fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. He has conducted many orchestras across North America and Europe including the Colorado Symphony, Des Moines Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Tîrgu Mureș State Philharmonic, and Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera.

As the founding Music Director & Conductor of Symphony of the Rockies and Boulder Symphony & Music Academy, Devin has fostered sustainable livings for those in the arts by raising millions of dollars that directly support professional musicians, teachers, composers, performers, and administrators. His initiatives and spirit create a culture that attracts those who want to make the orchestra approachable, accessible, and relevant for all. The Symphony’s Crescendo program provides professional support and supplemental educational initiatives for elementary to high school arts programs.

Devin has partnered to make music more universally accessible through organizations such as Carnegie Hall’s LinkUp, Red Cross, Oxfam International, I Have A Dream, El Sistema. Through the Glow Project and other sensory-friendly performances geared to those with autism and dementia, Devin has created programs tailored to those who cannot experience the full sound and stimulation of a live symphony orchestra.

A zealous performer and promoter of the music of our time, Devin has fostered multiple composer-in-residency programs premiering dozens of new works. He has also constructed innovative avenues to bring living composers to the forefront of the classical music scene and involve students in the symphonic orchestra. Recently Devin has brought premieres of award-winning composers Anna Clyne and Sarah Kirkland Snider’s music to Colorado. He has performed Cosi fan tutte with the Vienna Opera Academy at the Musikverein and the Gran Hotel Wien. Devin’s education includes studies at Ithaca College School of Music, University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, Grinnell College, Vienna Conservatory of Music, and Ball State University.