Artistic Director — David Chan

“Major credit clearly went to conductor Chan, who must be some kind of natural at this … it sounded like a kinder, gentler Toscanini was running the show.” – New York Classical Review

Known as one of the most accomplished violinists of his generation, David
Chan is also quickly making a name for himself as an elegant conductor of
unusual interpretive depth. After 25 seasons as concertmaster of New York’s
legendary Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, he now serves as Artistic Director of
the Taipei Music Academy and Festival, one of the world’s preeminent
educational festivals; as Principal Conductor of the Apollo Orchestra in the
Washington, D.C. area; and as Director of the Credo Festival, an orchestral
training institute held annually in Chicago’s Symphony Center. He was
previously Music Director of the APEX Ensemble, with which he earned high
praise for innovative and adventurous programming, and Music Director of
Camerata Notturna.

Increasingly in demand on the podium, Chan makes his Houston Grand
Opera debut next season, conducting seven performances of Mozart’s Die
Zauber5löte. His guest conducting engagements in recent seasons have
included Belgium's l'Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liè ge, the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, and l’Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne in France; the
Grant Park and Classical Tahoe summer festivals; the Juilliard Orchestra and
Manhattan School of Music in New York City; and at Musique et Vin au Clos
Vougeot, where the festival orchestra comprises musicians from the
Metropolitan Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and all
of the top orchestras in Paris. As Artistic Partner of Mainly Mozart’s Festival of
Orchestras, he has conducted the organization’s famed All-Star Orchestra, as
well as an entire festival combining musicians of the Los Angeles
Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, and another series bringing
together members of the MET Orchestra and the National Symphony
Orchestra. As a soloist, he has appeared under the baton of such conductors
as James Levine and Fabio Luisi, with orchestras including the MET
Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Indianapolis
Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and Moscow State
Symphony.

In addition to his concert appearances, Chan is active as an entrepreneur and
creative director. In 2008, combining his interest in wine with his passion for
music, he co-founded the Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot festival in the
Burgundy region of France. During his 13 seasons as artistic director of the
festival, which pairs wine tastings with music, he oversaw its growth from a
small, intimate gathering to a destination event attracting many of the biggest
names in classical music, such as Yo-Yo Ma, Joyce DiDonato, Jean-Yves
Thibaudet, Matthew Polenzani, Emmanuel Pahud, Menahem Pressler, Cho-
Liang Lin, Gary Hoffman, Marlis Petersen, and Ildar Abdrazakov.

A native of San Diego, Chan began his musical education at the age of four.
After winning prizes at the Tchaikovsky and Indianapolis international violin
competitions, he made his New York debut in 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall, and
his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003, performing the Brahms Double Concerto with
the MET Orchestra. A student of Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, and Michael
Tseitlin, he received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his
master’s from the Juilliard School. Chan became Professor of Violin at Rice
University’s prestigious Shepherd School of Music starting from the fall of
2025, while continuing his roles on the Juilliard faculty and as Head of the
Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music through
the 2026-27 school year. He lives in the Houston area with his wife, Catherine
Ro, and their children Annalise, Micah, and Arianna.