HK-born Elim Chan named San Francisco Symphony music director, breaking glass ceiling

Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan has been appointed the next music director of the San Francisco Symphony, becoming the first woman to lead a major US orchestra and breaking classical music's longstanding glass ceiling, the orchestra announced.

Chan, 39, becomes the 13th music director in the symphony's 115-year history, formally beginning her tenure in September 2027 for an initial six-year term. She joins the orchestra as music director designate effective immediately and will conduct the symphony on June 5 and 6 in a programme including works by Wagner, Berlioz and Debussy.

"I am honored to take the podium as its next music director," Chan said. "From my very first encounter with this orchestra, I have been genuinely struck by the generosity of its musicians – exemplified in their sound, their music-making, and in their spirit."

San Francisco Symphony chief executive Matthew Spivey praised Chan as "a musician of unusual gifts and a leader of equal substance," adding that her artistry sits naturally inside the orchestra's lineage, which has long been known for its sound, its appetite for new work, and its conviction that great repertoire should be tested and reanimated.

Chan made her San Francisco Symphony debut during the 2022-23 season, which San Francisco Chronicle critic Joshua Kosman called "a dynamic and splendidly controlled debut." Following her second appearance in October 2023, Kosman proclaimed that Chan is "the real deal."

Born in Hong Kong, Chan studied in the United States for nearly a decade before winning the London Symphony Orchestra's Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in 2014, launching her international career. She served as principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra from 2019 to 2024 and principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra from 2018 to 2023.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓