Carolyn Kuan

Carolyn Kuan is an Asian-American conductor. Since 2011, she is the music director for the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. In June 2016, Kuan signed a six-year extension of her deal with the orchestra.

Early life and education

Kuan was born in Taipei, Republic of China. Her family is originally from Guangzhou, China. When she was five years old, her older brother received a piano as a gift. Kuan quickly convinced her parents to allow her to play the piano. Kuan sang in choirs and had an appreciation for opera; she initially wanted to be an opera singer.

High school in the United States

Kuan's middle school had a "sister school" in the United States that would allow Chinese students to come study. When Kuan was 14, she came to the United States. She was very intrigued by the education system in the U.S. In China, school was very memorization-based. She was pleased to find that she could ask questions and possibly disagree with teachers.

Higher education

Kuan graduated cum laude from Smith College, received a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois, and a Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory.

Career

Kuan has cultivated an expertise in Asian music and contemporary works, while maintaining a connection with traditional repertoire. Her commitment to contemporary music has established her as a resource for world premieres and new music.

Kuan has performed all over North America including: with the symphonies of Baltimore, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and Seattle; the Florida and Louisville orchestras; the New York City Ballet; the Colorado Music Festival and Glimmerglass Festival; the New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Washington National Opera. Recent international engagements have included concerts with the Bournemouth Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, National Symphony of Taiwan, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Residentie Orkest, Orquesta Sinfonica de Yucatan, Royal Danish Ballet, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the West Australian Symphony.

Hartford Symphony Orchestra

In 2011, Kuan was appointed music director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. She is the 10th music director for the orchestra and she is the first female and the first Asian-American to be named music director at the Hartford Symphony. She recently extended her contract through May, 2022. Hartford Symphony is her first music directorship.

Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music

Kuan was involved with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music from 2003-2012. The festival, which takes place in California, is dedicated to symphonic music by living composers. She has found success bridging the gap between cultural and social issues, as in her work raising awareness of conservation and the environment through her performances around the globe of the multimedia project Life: A Journey Through Time. Developed by the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and music director Marin Alsop, the project features music by Philip Glass and images by National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting.

Life: A Journey Through Time

Kuan has performed Life for many notable individuals all over the world including: a presentation at the Ninth World Wilderness Congress with Orquesta Sinfonica de Yucatan; at the eight-day June festival, Change Is Powerful, with the Detroit Symphony; and at CERN’s (European Organization for Nuclear Research) historical Large Hadron Collider Inauguration, with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande attended by Swiss President Pascal Couchpin, French Prime Minister François Fillon, more than 20 other European heads of state, and dozens of Nobel laureates.

Seattle Symphony: Celebrate Asia!

In 2008, Kuan helped launch the successful Celebrate Asia! for the Seattle Symphony. She worked with community leaders representing eight Asian cultures. She led the sold-out performances for three consecutive years. The program still has annual performances in Seattle.

Santa Fe Opera

During the 2014/2015 season, Kuan made her summer-long debut with the Santa Fe Opera. Working closely with composer Huang Ruo and director James Robinson, and a mixed cast of east and west singers and instrumentalists, she conducted the premiere of Dr. Sun Yet-Sen to great critical acclaim.

Recordings

Kuan released her debut album with the Naxos label in 2012. The album features Kuan conducting the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in works by various Chinese composers.

Accolades

Kuan is the first woman to be awarded the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship by the Herbert von Karajan Centrum and American Austrian Foundation in 2003, resulting in her residency at the 2004 Salzburg Festival. She won the first Taki Concordia Fellowship, she has received additional awards from the Women’s Philharmonic, Conductors Guild, and Susan W. Rose Fund for Music.