Elim Chan

Elim Chan, born in Hong Kong in 1986, is one of the most dynamic conductors of her generation. She studied in the United States, earning her doctorate at the University of Michigan, and in 2014 became the first woman to win the prestigious Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, which brought an assistant conductorship with the London Symphony Orchestra. She went on to become chief conductor of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra from 2019 to 2024, the first woman and the youngest conductor to hold that post, and has been named music director-designate of the San Francisco Symphony. A frequent and admired guest with the world’s leading orchestras, she is known for the energy, clarity and dramatic flair of her conducting across a broad repertoire.