John Stubbs is Music Director and Conductor of the Golden State Ballet, where he leads the San Diego Symphony in the beloved classic The Nutcracker. Other ballets include Paquita and Serenade, as well as premieres of new works featuring music by Bach, Vivaldi, De Falla, Albinoni, George Crumb, and Yoav Talmi.
Mr. Stubbs has led the Colorado Springs Symphony, the Wyoming Symphony, and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra at the reopening Gala of the historic Balboa Theatre. He conducted the world premiere of ALICE: Re-imagining Wonderland through Dance, Music and Spoken Word — a collaboration between The Art of Élan and Colette Harding Contemporary Dance Company featuring a commissioned score by Joseph Hallman — and has led the Golden State Ballet in Jiří Kylián’s Six German Dances. He has also traveled to Japan to conduct the full-length ballet La Bayadère for the Ochi International Ballet in Nagoya.
Mr. Stubbs is the creator and director of Luscious Noise, an eclectic performance series at San Diego’s Anthology jazz club that brings new audiences to classical music through the pairing of live performance and video in an intimate, contemporary setting.
He holds a position as violinist with the San Diego Symphony.
Testimonials
“Working with John is a pleasure. I find him to be professional, patient, adaptive and calm; qualities that are greatly appreciated by any dancer working with a conductor.”
Cory Stearns, Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre
“John Stubbs is very sensitive and inspiring to the dancers whenever he conducts a performance.”
Stanko Milov, Principal Dancer, Pacific Northwest Ballet
“John Stubbs not only manages to make the audience literally feel the music but also pays the most attention to the dancers on stage, following their slightest signs accordingly—a quality rarely seen!”
Gregor Hatala, Soloist, Wiener Staatsoper