Jacob Sustaita

Dr. Jacob Sustaita serves as the assistant conductor, the Mary E. Moore Assistant   Conductor Chair, for Pacific Symphony and Music Director, Carl St. Clair, a position he has held since the fall of 2020. Dr. Sustaita, or Jake, also serves as Music Director and Conductor for Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra (PSYO), the premier training orchestra of Orange County, recognized as one of the most outstanding youth orchestras in the country. Jake’s passion for conducting Family, Education, and Youth Concerts is evident in his work with Pacific Symphony. He recently partnered with acclaimed puppeteer Victor Yerrid to design, program, and conduct a new series of Family Concerts at PSO that brings the world of puppets to the concert hall for an unbelievable concert experience for families and children of all ages. Jake is an enthusiastic conductor known for creating strong bonds with audiences and musicians alike. His personal and unique approach to storytelling through music and audience engagement are highly in demand, and he is quickly becoming one of the most in demand conductors for training the brightest young musicians. In January 2025, Jake joined the incredible team of Teaching Artists at Disney’s Imagination Campus, a select group of conductors and music educators selected by Disney to teach, clinic, and conduct recording sessions at Disneyland in Orange County. Dr. Sustaita also serves as the Symphony Orchestra Director at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), and he is the newest member to join the instrumental conducting faculty at USC’s Thornton School of Music. In the fall of 2021 and 2022, Jake also served as Acting Director of Orchestras at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University Long Beach (CSULB). Dr. Sustaita is a frequent guest conductor and clinician across the country, and in 2015, he was selected by Carnegie Hall's Weill Institute to serve as assistant conductor to Charles Dutoit and the National Youth Orchestra of America (NYO). Sustaita regularly conducted and coached the orchestra during its New York residency and throughout their seven-city tour of China and Hong Kong. A native of Texas, Sustaita completed his Doctorate and Bachelor of Music degrees at the University of Houston, where he served as assistant conductor for the Moores Opera Center for three seasons. He also earned a Master of Music degree from both Penn State University and Rice University. His honors include: Schissler Conducting Fellowship, Rice University Prize and Provost Fellowship and American Prize semi-finalist and finalist. His teachers and mentors include Carl St.Clair, Charles Dutoit, Franz Krager, Brett Mitchell, Gerardo Edelstein, and Paavo Järvi.