Elim Chan Has Been Added to Two More Programs at SF Symphony This Season
Fans of the Elim Chan will have two more chances to see the San Francisco Symphony‘s incoming music director conduct the orchestra this season. In addition to her scheduled October concerts, Chan will now conduct additional programs in January and June 2027.
“It is really important to me to be in San Francisco for a few additional weeks this season because we’re embarking on a very important new chapter together,” said Chan in a statement. “There is so much to do, and I cannot wait to get started.”
In the Bay Area, Chan has already amassed a fan club. This past June, shortly after being appointed as the Symphony’s first-ever female music director, Chan conducted a program of Wagner, Berlioz and Debussy that resulted in standing ovations and a circle of selfie-seeking patrons of all ages who gathered afterwards outside of Davies Symphony Hall.
On Jan. 14–16, Chan will conduct Noriko Koide’s Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain, Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante and Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The full program replaces one led by Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt, who has withdrawn from the engagement on the advice of doctors. (The 99-year-old conductor withdrew from a Mahler program in May after one performance.)
On June 25–27, Chan will replace conductor Gustavo Gimeno, who has withdrawn to allow Chan to take the podium. The program includes Augusta Read Thomas’ Sunlight Echoes with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 performed by Yefim Bronfman and Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.
As previously announced, Chan will also conduct a program of John Adams’ Doctor Atomic Symphony, Arvo Pärt’s Magnificat, and pieces by Brahms and Mendelssohn on Oct. 29–31.
Chan’s inaugural season officially begins September 2027.