‘I am hungry’: Elim Chan on taking the lead at the San Francisco Symphony
The Hong Kong-born conductor shares why she’s excited to lead the ‘velvety, warm’ SFS and how San Francisco feels ‘a bit like’ her home city
As Chan herself acknowledged in an interview with the South China Morning Post on May 22, that was also what she expected, but – using a dating and marriage analogy – the courtship with the LA Phil went on for too long without the orchestra proposing.
“I thought yes, [the LA Phil] is for me. Maybe it’s a smokescreen for them. They have never told me clearly. I know they were excited about me. But it was taking a long time,” she said.
This is why she decided enough was enough when San Francisco came calling in February.
“The dialogues were different, and they were more direct. SFS was passionate, and after many discussions, especially with the musicians, I thought I had a really great canvas in San Francisco.”
The announcement marks a milestone for the conductor and puts one of Hong Kong’s most famous classical music exports at the helm of a premier cultural institution in the United States.