Elim Chan, a 39-year-old conductor born in Hong Kong, has been appointed Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony on a six-year contract. She will be the first woman to lead one of the Big 7 U.S. symphony orchestras, joining New York, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Chan previously served as principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra in Belgium. Her predecessors included Michael Tilson Thomas and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Chan is known for high energy, strong rhythm, and precision, bringing verve to calm passages and often conducting with a forward, charging motion. She has also trained with a boxing coach, reflecting her dynamic approach. Her appointment marks progress toward women holding top leadership roles in major orchestras.
"The San Francisco Symphony has appointed Elim Chan as its new Music Director. The 39-year-old conductor born in Hong Kong has signed a six-year contract, the Symphony announced Thursday."
"Chan will be the first woman to lead one of the so-called "Big 7" symphony orchestras in the United States, encompassing New York, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia."
"As a conductor, Chan may best be described as outsized. Praised for her energy and rhythm, and noted for bringing precision and verve to nominally calm, languorous musical passages, Chan transcends her diminutive height. Often, she arcs forward, as if charging after the music. (Along with conducting, Chan has also trained on the side with a boxing coach.)"
""She's totally herself, which is really wonderful ... She's a very daring musician, and she's going to try all kinds of things, all kinds of works, all kinds of different ways to make music."
Read at Kqed
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