In Tuesday’s (7/28) Nob Hill Gazette, Garth Grimball writes, “Elim Chan walked out onto the Davies Symphony Hall stage and before she even reached the conductor’s podium, the sold-out audience had erupted into a standing ovation. While her official tenure as the 13th musical director of the San Francisco Symphony doesn’t begin until September 2027, her conducting of the orchestra’s June 5–6 program as music director designate served as a preview of the energy and enthusiasm she sparks for the 115-year-old institution…. Once Chan’s appointment was made public, 1,100 tickets to her June performances sold immediately. Says [San Francisco Symphony’s CEO] Matthew Spivey, ‘Elim’s appointment signals the desire to really surface the most human aspects of what we do.’ … At the concert on June 5, the audience quieted back into their seats after the standing ovation. Then Chan took a brief moment to share, ‘I’m definitely feeling a lot of love,’ before conducting Wagner’s ‘Prelude’ and ‘Liebestod’ from Tristan und Isolde, Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été and Debussy’s La Mer … After the final bows, the crowd spilled out onto Grove Street for a post-performance block party with food, drinks and live music.”
