ESA-PEKKA SALONEN 
& CONDUCTING STAFF

One of the most influential and creative forces in music, SF Symphony Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen has—through his many high-profile conducting roles, work as a leading composer, and advocacy for accessibility and varied musical voices—shaped a unique vision for the present and future of the symphony orchestra. His restless innovation drives him constantly to reposition classical music in the now.

Beginning with his debut in 1974, and continuing through his remarkable 25-year tenure as Music Director (1995–2020) and his current post as Music Director Laureate, Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony have developed a dynamic and productive partnership.

Herbert Blomstedt, Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony (SFS), served as the Symphony’s Music Director from 1985 to 1995. During that decade, he raised the orchestra’s standards and its international stature.

A passionate communicator, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. 

Radu Paponiu joins the San Francisco Symphony as Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) in the 2024–25 season.

A native of Hong Kong, Jenny Wong was appointed Chorus Director of the San Francisco Symphony by Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen in September 2023.

Raised between Warsaw and Edinburgh, Aleksandra Melaniuk is currently a Britten-Pears Young Artist and a Salonen Conducting Fellow in the Negaunee Conducting Program at Colburn Conservatory. She assists Esa-Pekka Salonen at the San Francisco Symphony and internationally.

Turkish-German conductor, pianist, and composer Mert Yalniz has been described as “extremely individual, charismatic and convincing” (Osthessen News).