Joseph Young is the newly appointed Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Artistic Director of Ensembles at his alma mater, the Peabody Conservatory. He recently concluded a four-year tenure as assistant conductor of the Atlanta Symphony during which time he conducted more than fifty concerts per season. Mr. Young has also served as music director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, resident conductor of the Phoenix Symphony, and as a League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut at this performance.

Mr. Young made his major American orchestral debut in January 2008 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and he has since appeared with the Saint Louis Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Bamberg Symphony, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, Orquesta Sinfonica y Coro de RTVE (Madrid), and Chicago Sinfonietta, among others. Highlights of recent seasons include his debuts with the Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra (Mexico), New World Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Fayetteville Symphony.

Recipient of the 2008, 2014, and 2015 Solti Foundation US Career Assistance Award for young conductors, Mr. Young was a semi-finalist in the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition in 2013. In 2011, he was one of six conductors featured in the League of American Orchestras Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview, hosted by the Louisiana Philharmonic.

Mr. Young earned his bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of South Carolina and completed graduate studies with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar at the Peabody Conservatory in 2009, earning an artist's diploma in conducting. He has also been mentored by conductors including Jorma Panula, Robert Spano, and Marin Alsop.

(February 2019)

Clairdee’s lustrous voice and soulful delivery hearken back to a time when jazz, pop, and rhythm and blues often blended seamlessly together. Born in Tucson, AZ and raised in Denver, CO, Clairdee grew up singing with her siblings in school and church where she also played viola. She moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986 where she began working with her mentor, drummer Billy Higgins, as well as trumpeter Eddie Henderson, saxophonist John Handy, and pianists Roland Hanna and Allen Farnham. In addition to leading her touring band, Clairdee has been featured in concerts with Dick Hyman, Bucky Pizzarelli, Cyrus Chestnut, Houston Person, Wycliff Gordon, and Ken Peplowski. She has opened for artists as diverse as David Sanborn, Johnny Mathis, and Etta James; performed at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival; and toured throughout Russia, Japan, and across the US. Clairdee’s discography includes three albums as leader; her newest recording, A Love Letter to Lena Horne, is currently in production. A passionate advocate for arts education, Clairdee is former vocal jazz instructor at UC Berkeley's Jazz Department and Diablo Valley College, and a teaching artist with SFJAZZ and the San Francisco Symphony’s education departments. She is an Artist Advisory Committee member and active mentor in the non-profit Bay Area-based organization Jazz in the Neighborhood. She makes her San Francisco Symphony debut at this performance.

(February 2019)

Formed in April 2007, Duniya Dance and Drum Company creates dance and music from Punjab, India, and Guinea, West Africa, as well as unique blends of these forms and beyond. The word duniya means “world” in a wide array of languages, including Punjabi, Arabic, Susu, and Wolof. Duniya’s work explores the forces—including, but not limited to, colonization, globalization, immigration, art, dance, music, and love—that have brought together the members of the company and their dance and drum styles. This performance marks the company's San Francisco Symphony debut. Born in the American South to parents from Northern India, Joti Singh is Artistic Director of Duniya Dance and Drum Company. Ms. Singh began her dance training in Punjabi circles, and later studied West African dance. She has participated in the CHIME mentorship program and has been an artist-in-residence at CounterPULSE twice, most recently in their Performing Diaspora program. Ms. Singh and her husband, musician Bongo Sidibe, lead annual trips to Guinea and recently opened the Duniya Center for Arts and Education in Conakry. She teaches all over the San Fraciscisco Bay Area, including Dance Mission Theater and the San Francisco School of the Arts.

(February 2019)