Russell Reynolds Associates Recruits First Female Music Director for the San Francisco Symphony
May 26, 2026 – Following a two-year international search, Russell Reynolds Associates has assisted in the recruitment of Elim Chan as the 13th music director of the San Francisco Symphony. She becomes the first female music director of the organizations. “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,” said San Francisco Symphony CEO Matthew Spivey. “What sets her apart on the podium is the conviction she brings to the music itself. Works orchestras have played a hundred times sound newly made under her hand, lit by a feeling for structure, color, and emotional architecture that audiences hear before they can name.”
“Just as distinctive is the company she keeps with living composers,” Mr. Spivey said. “She does not simply program new music—she lives inside it, shaping what the canon can become by advocating for it. Her artistry sits naturally inside the San Francisco Symphony’s lineage—an orchestra long known for its sound, its appetite for new work, and its conviction that the great repertoire is something to be tested and reanimated, not preserved under glass. She brings the strength, empathy, and intellectual rigor that orchestral leadership demands today, and the generosity to be an effective partner with our musicians, our board, and our community in the work ahead. Her arrival opens new territory for this great American orchestra.”
“San Francisco has always thrived on bold vision and reinvention, and in Elim Chan we have exactly the music director this moment calls for,” said San Francisco Symphony board of governors chair Priscilla B. Geeslin. “She brings a rare combination of energy, imagination, and openness, along with a natural ability to engage deeply with musicians, audiences, and the spirit of our city alike—qualities that will be central to this next chapter. Her creative vision and leadership, paired with the artistry and excellence of our musicians, create a powerful opportunity to realize something truly extraordinary. We are truly fortunate to welcome Elim Chan to the San Francisco Symphony at this pivotal time.”
Ms. Chan was recently appointed artistic partner with the Vienna Symphony for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 seasons, following her designation as portrait artist at the Musikverein in the 2022–23 season. She served as principal conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra from 2019–2024 and principal guest conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra between 2018–2023. Ms. Chan made her San Francisco Symphony debut during the 2022–23 season, conducting a program that included the world premiere of Elizabeth Ogonek’s Moondog, a Symphony commission.
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“The San Francisco Symphony is one of the truly great orchestras of the world, and I am honored to take the podium as its next music director,” said Ms. Chan. “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. 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,” Ms. Chan said. “Stepping into the rich legacy of my distinguished predecessors, it is this exact spirit that I want to nurture and explore every single night, together with these incredible musicians. 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.”
115-Year-Old Institution
The San Francisco Symphony is among the most adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education and community engagement programs. Since it was established in 1911, the Symphony has grown in acclaim under a succession of distinguished music directors: Henry Hadley, Alfred Hertz, Basil Cameron, Issay Dobrowen, Pierre Monteux, Enrique Jordá, Josef Krips, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and now Ms. Chan.
Russell Reynolds Associates is a global leadership advisory and search firm. Its 520-plus consultants in 47 offices work with public, private, and non-profit organizations across all industries and regions. The firm also conducts in-depth organizational culture assessment and measures the cultural fit of key leadership and candidates in the following areas: arts and culture, global development, higher education, non-profit health and human services, public sector, social justice and advocacy, as well as trade and professional associations.
Russell Reynolds Associates offers specialized executive search and leadership advisory services for higher education institutions, focusing on finding “future-fit” leaders for colleges, universities, and academic medical centers. They assist with presidential searches, dean appointments, and key functional leadership roles.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
