MET Concertmaster David Chan named Director of Credo National Festival
Chicago—David Chan, concertmaster of New York’s MET Orchestra, has agreed to a three-year contract to become the Director of the Credo National Festival.
Since 1999, Credo has been a beloved and impactful chamber music festival held at Oberlin Conservatory. To mark this summer’s celebration of 25 years of musical and mentoring excellence, the Festival will morph into a full-fledged orchestral institute held in Chicago’s legendary Symphony Center. The distinctive side-by-side model of the new program—where titled players from major American orchestras play alongside students, providing both personal and professional mentorship—expands the Credo goal of redefining success.
Credo Founder and Artistic Director Peter Slowik states: “After twenty-five years of consistent faculty and leadership, the Credo mission will prosper with this summer’s infusion of new energy and vision. While the format has developed to meet a new generation of musical leaders, the ideals and deeply personal nature of Credo’s work remain bedrock strong. David Chan is the perfect leader for this transition and beyond.”
Chan’s strong values find a sweet harmony with Credo’s unique amalgam of music, faith and service (Develop the Gift, Acknowledge the Source, Respond in Service). The partnership will provide “a uniquely meaningful opportunity where I can draw on every facet of my professional life—as conductor, violinist, and teacher—and also fulfill my personal callings to service and ministry,” Chan said.
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. Currently in his 24th season as concertmaster of New York’s MET Orchestra, he has also recently served as Music Director of the APEX Ensemble, with which he earned high praise for innovative and adventurous programming, and as Music Director of Camerata Notturna, one of New York City’s foremost chamber orchestras. As Artistic Partner of Mainly Mozart’s Festival of Orchestras, he has conducted the organization’s famed All-Star Orchestra, while his guest conducting has included Belgium's l'Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, 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 the Apollo Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
ABOUT CREDO—Credo Music is a movement set out to transform the classical music world by growing the next generation of selfless leaders—who not only excel at their craft, but recognize their art as a gift from God and seek to offer it back as a genuine service to society. It was founded in 1999 and in addition to Oberlin has held programs in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, and Sydney, Australia. To learn more, visit credomusic.org.
For more information, please contact Brooke Smith, Executive Director, at +1 (469) 708-9440 or brooke.smith@credomusic.org.