About
American conductor Joseph Young is among the most gifted conductors of his generation, balancing his flourishing career as a guest conductor with leadership roles as Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony and Artistic Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory.
“Joseph Young has had quite a year … impressive,” wrote Washington Classical Review of his 2023 National Symphony Orchestra debut, which capped a year of debuts that included leading Jeanine Tesori’s Blue with Washington National Opera, the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl, and NYO2 at Carnegie Hall and on tour in the Dominican Republic, as well as collaborations with composer Du Yun, pianist Lara Downes, artist William Kentridge, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and icon Debbie Allen.
Joseph is committed to amplifying a range of musical voices — both historical and contemporary — that animate his consistently compelling programs, which have included works by Brian Raphael Nabors, Florence Price, and Carlos Simon, alongside iconic composers such as John Adams, Brahms, Dvořák, and Prokofiev, and many others.
Highlights of previous and upcoming engagements include the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, New World Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música (Portugal), the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE (Spain), and the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa). In July 2024, he will conduct the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the Cincinnati Opera’s world-premiere staging of the Liverpool Oratorio, Paul McCartney’s acclaimed 1991 work for orchestra, chorus, and soloists.
Earlier in his career, Joseph served as the Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony under Robert Spano and Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, where he was the driving force behind the ensemble’s artistic growth. He has served as Resident Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony and the League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Joseph began his steady ascent in the orchestral world while serving as an educator in South Carolina. Self-guided, self-funded study—and a chance encounter with the influential conductor Michael Morgan—led him to a conducting workshop with Marin Alsop who, recognizing his raw talent, created the BSO–Peabody Conducting Fellowship to facilitate his artistic and professional growth. He has since been mentored by luminaries in the orchestra world, including Jorma Panula, Robert Spano, and Alsop, with whom he maintains a close artistic partnership.
Now a dedicated mentor and role model himself, Joseph shapes the future of classical music through his dynamic performances and programming with major symphony orchestras, his steadfast commitment to teaching in classrooms and concert halls, and his service on the board of New Music USA. He also maintains a working relationship with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and its National Youth Orchestra program, where he served as Resident Conductor for NYO2 from 2017 to 2022 prior to his Carnegie Hall debut in 2023.
Joseph is a three-time recipient of a coveted Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award for young conductors (2008, 2014, 2015). In 2013, he was a semi-finalist in the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg, Germany. In 2011, he was one of six conductors featured in the League of American Orchestras’ prestigious Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview.
He holds an Artist’s Diploma in conducting from the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar, and a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of South Carolina. He grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, the eldest son of a banker and a Naval officer, studying the trumpet before picking up a baton.
