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American-German conductor and pianist Luke Poeppel is the Ensemble Conductor for the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, having recently concluded two seasons as assistant conductor for the Kansas City Symphony (under music director Matthias Pintscher). At the Kansas City Symphony, he led nearly 30 performances in the 2024-25’ and 2025-26’ seasons, from family performances with Really Inventive Stuff to Pops performances with Capathia Jenkins and Cody Fry. He returns to Kansas City as a guest conductor in the 2026-27’ season. He also debuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago for performances with the Ryan Center Ensemble, conducts Daniel Catan’s Salsipuedes at Opera Southwest and conducts the Springfield Symphony as a music director finalist.

He has served as a guest conductor for groups including the Reno Chamber Orchestra, Grossman Ensemble, Opera Saratoga, and the Orchestra of the League of Composers. He has served as a cover conductor for orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Baltimore Symphony, Detroit Opera, San Diego Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Opera Delaware, and Juilliard Opera. Poeppel worked for two seasons as assistant conductor for the Glimmerglass Festival, conducting the final performance of Sunday in the Park with George for their 50th anniversary season. For the 2025 Prototype Festival in New York City, he was the Associate Conductor for Cerrone & Fleischmann’s opera In a Grove, stepping in to conduct the full run of performances; this run was featured in the New York Times’ Best Classical Performances of 2025. Poeppel subsequently conducted In a Grove at Opera Saratoga. Poeppel is a 2025 and 2026 winner of a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award.