American conductor Joseph Young strikes a commanding podium presence, but it is his sensitive, precise, and deeply emotive performances with major orchestras that firmly establish him as one of the foremost conductors of his generation. Now in his sixth season as Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony, Young consistently draws in new and diverse audiences with a compelling approach to musical storytelling that honors the classical canon while celebrating contemporary voices.
In the 2024–2025 season, Young has debuts and return engagements with the National Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica RTVE, the Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Louisville Orchestra, among others. He makes his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut with Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s opera Blue, which he led to great acclaim with the Washington National Opera. In summer 2024, he led the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the Cincinnati Opera’s world-premiere staging of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio.
Highlights of recent engagements include the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Sphinx Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música (Portugal), and the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra on tour throughout South Africa.
A sought-after collaborator, Young has brought joyful enthusiasm and keen attention to detail to projects and performances with pianist Lara Downes, artist William Kentridge, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and icon Debbie Allen, among others.
Young balances his flourishing conducting career with his role as Artistic Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory. From 2017 to 2023, he was affiliated with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute and its National Youth Orchestra program, culminating in his Carnegie Hall debut and subsequent NYO2 tour to the Dominican Republic. Young also serves on the board of New Music USA.
Earlier in his career, Young 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 was a League of American Orchestras Fellow with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
Young’s conducting career was launched when he attended a workshop with Marin Alsop who, recognizing his raw talent, created the BSO–Peabody Conducting Fellowship to facilitate his artistic and professional growth. He was mentored by luminaries in the orchestra world, including Jorma Panula, Spano, and Alsop, with whom he maintains a close artistic partnership.
Young 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.