Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan becomes first woman to lead San Francisco Symphony

Name: ‘I always thought it’s possible’: Elim Chan on being an Asian female orchestra conductor
Uploaded: 2026-05-21T17:54:00.000Z
Duration: 15 min 19 s
Description: ‘I always thought it’s possible’: Elim Chan on being an Asian female orchestra conductor

Rising maestro emerged as a surprise choice and will begin her six-year term at the famed orchestra in September 2027

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Elim Chan conducts the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra during a performance at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall in November 2024. Photo: Keith Hiro/HK Phil

Enid Tsui

Published: 1:54am, 22 May 2026Updated: 6:14am, 22 May 2026

Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan has been named music director designate of the San Francisco Symphony, capping months of intense industry speculation over her next permanent posting.

The orchestra announced on May 21 that Chan will officially begin her tenure in September 2027. She will serve an initial six-year term, becoming the first woman and 13th music director in the institution’s 115-year history.

The announcement marks a significant milestone for the conductor and places one of Hong Kong’s most famous classical music exports at the helm of a premier cultural institution in the United States.

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‘I always thought it’s possible’: Elim Chan on being an Asian female orchestra conductor

“The San Francisco Symphony is one of the truly great orchestras of the world, and I am honoured to take the podium as its next Music Director,” Chan said in the press release. “The Bay Area has long been the place where the future gets invented. This orchestra carries that same restless, forward-looking energy in everything it does. […] I also look forward immensely to interacting with the San Francisco Symphony’s audiences and my new community as we begin this exciting journey together”.

Her “new community” in San Francisco will include one of the most culturally active and historic Chinese-American communities in North America, and the orchestra already has a Hong Kong-born choral director, Jenny Wong.

San Francisco Symphony chief executive officer Matthew Spivey praised the appointment, stating, “In Elim Chan, we have found a musician of unusual gifts and a leader of equal substance – a rare combination, and the one behind her remarkable international rise”.

Elim Chan, who has recently conducted the BBC Proms and major orchestras in Chicago, New York and Boston, in front of the San Francisco skyline. Photo: Cody Pickens

Until recently, industry chatter heavily favoured Chan to be the one to succeed the wildly popular Gustavo Dudamel as music director in Los Angeles. Speculation certainly picked up steam since a 2023 concert that she conducted at the Walt Disney Concert Hall went viral, supported by Chan’s long history with the orchestra, having served as a Dudamel Fellow there in her early career. However, those widespread predictions ultimately proved to be a red herring, as Chan instead opted for a permanent leadership role farther north in California.

Hong Kong-born conductor Elim Chan becomes first woman to lead San Francisco Symphony

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Rising maestro emerged as a surprise choice and will begin her six-year term at the famed orchestra in September 2027

Rising maestro emerged as a surprise choice and will begin her six-year term at the famed orchestra in September 2027