This concert is the North Carolina Symphony debut for John Young Shik Concklin.

John Young Shik Concklin is Music Director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. He also serves as Conductor with the Atlanta Music Project, an El Sistema organization focused on social justice and music, and the Piedmont Chamber Orchestra, a mentoring orchestra for high school and collegiate musicians. 

Previous positions include associate conductor of the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, assistant conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and faculty appointments at Vanderbilt, Clemson, Furman, and Converse universities. He has been a fellowship conductor at the Aspen Music Festival, a teaching assistant at the Brevard Music Center, and a finalist at the New World Symphony and Debut Orchestra. 

Concklin has been a finalist for the 2019/20 American Prize in Conducting. He has competed internationally at the Almaty, the Nino Rota, and the Città di Brescia international conducting competitions. He is also regularly invited to cover-conduct for the Nashville and Kansas City symphonies and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. 

A flexible musician, Concklin has also performed at the Super Bowl halftime show and has collaborated with Monica, a Grammy-winning R&B artist. 

Concklin studied at Vanderbilt University, Yale University, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His mentors include David Zinman, Carl Topilow, Shin-ik Hahm, and Robin Fountain. He received further training from Lorin Maazel and Michael Tilson-Thomas. 

Concklin and his wife, Lauren Maxwell, co-founded Mozart for a Cause, a multi genre chamber music concert that fundraises for local causes.