Elim Chan
Hong Kong conductor (born 1986)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elim Chan (Chinese: 陳以琳; b. November 18, 1986) is a Hong Kong-born conductor. In 2025 she was the conductor at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. In May 2026, Chan was named the 13th Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony.
| Elim Chan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳以琳 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈以琳 | ||||||||
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Biography
Chan was born in Hong Kong.[1] In her youth, she played cello and piano and sang in choirs.[2][3] Chan attended the Good Hope School (Form One) and was a sixth-form student at Li Po Chun United World College in Hong Kong.
Chan studied at Smith College in the United States, initially intending to become a medical doctor. Following an initial experience in conducting during her second year of college,[4] she changed her program of study and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music in 2009.[5] Chan pushed graduate studies in music at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where her teachers included Kenneth Kiesler. She was music director of the University of Michigan Campus Symphony Orchestra and of the Michigan Pops Orchestra in 2012/13. She earned her master's degree in orchestra conducting from Michigan in 2011 and her Doctor of Musical Arts in 2015.[2]
In December 2014, at age 28, Chan won the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition, the first female conductor to win the competition.[1][6][7][8] As the competition winner, she was named assistant conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra with a one-year contract for 2015/16.[1] the orchestra’s principal conductor, Valery Gergiev, invited her to participate in a tour of Mexico with the Mariinsky Orchestra. She has also participated in master classes in conducting with Bernard Haitink.[4]
In April 2016, NorrlandsOperan announced Chan's appointment as its next chief conductor, effective in 2017, with an initial contract of three years.[9] In April 2018, Chan announced that she planned to stand down as chief conductor of NorrlandsOperan after one season.[10]
In January 2017, she made her first guest-conducting appearance with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO). She returned as guest conductor with the RSNO a fortnight later as an emergency substitute for Neeme Järvi.[11] In June 2017, the RSNO appointed Chan as its next principal guest conductor, effective 2018.[12] Chan concluded her tenure as principal guest conductor of the RSNO in March 2023.[13]
Chan guest-conducted the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra for the first time in November 2017. She returned as guest conductor in Antwerp in March 2018. In May 2018, the orchestra announced her appointment as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2019/20 season.[14] Chan is both the first female conductor and the youngest conductor named chief conductor of the orchestra. She concluded her tenure as chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra at the close of the 2023–2024 season, one season earlier than her previously announced contract extension.[15] In 2022 she made her debuts conducting the Boston Symphony[16] and the Cleveland Orchestra.[17] She debuted with the New York Philharmonic in 2024.[4]
On September 13, 2025, Chan was the conductor at the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. She conducted the BBC Symphony Orchestra, soprano Louise Alder and trumpeter Alison Balsom and presented the traditional favourites.[18]
On May 21, 2026, Chan was named the 13th Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony for a six-year term beginning in the 2027/28 season.[19][20] She is the first woman to be appointed as director of one of the "Big 7" U.S. symphony orchestras.[20]