Music director of The
Florida Orchestra
from 1988 to
2002, Jahja Ling’s
distinguished career
as an internationally
renowned conductor
has earned him
an exceptional
reputation for
musical integrity,
intensity and expressivity. Born in Jakarta,
Indonesia, and now a citizen of the United States,
he is the first and only conductor of Chinese
descent to hold a music director position with a
major orchestra in the United States, and he has
conducted all of the major symphony orchestras
in North America including Boston, Chicago,
Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh and San Francisco.
The 2016/17 season marked Ling’s thirteenth and
final season as music director of the San Diego
Symphony. Ling is universally praised for his work
in building the San Diego Symphony Orchestra from
a post-bankruptcy state into one of the top tier
major orchestra during his 13-year tenure. He has
appointed more than 70 new musicians from all over
the world to form this remarkable ensemble, and
together they have collaborated with the world’s
greatest soloists. In October of 2013, Ling led the
orchestra in their first appearance at Carnegie Hall,
followed by their first international tour to China,
where they appeared in five concerts. Together
they have recorded works for Telarc Records and
Naxos, and eight other CDs on the orchestra’s own
label. The orchestra has named Ling as their first
conductor laureate in its history.
Ling holds one of the longest continuous
relationships with one of the world’s greatest
THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2017-2018
orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra, beginning in
1984 and continuing for 33 seasons. He also served
as artistic director of the Taiwan Philharmonic/NSO
(1998-2001) and assistant and associate conductor
of the San Francisco Symphony. Deeply committed
to education, Ling served as founding music
director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
(1986-1993) and the San Francisco Symphony Youth
Orchestra (1981-84), and he served as the director
of Tanglewood/BU Young Artists Orchestra during
the 1983 and 1984 seasons. Last season he was
named to the position of distinguished principal
guest faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Ling made his European debut with the Leipzig
Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1988 and has appeared
with the philharmonic orchestras of China,
Cophenhagen, Hong Kong, Netherlands (Radio),
London (Royal), and Stockholm; the symphony
orchestras of Berlin (Radio), Guangzhou, Hangzhou,
Jakarta, Leipzig (MDR), Taiwan, Hamburg (NDR),
Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney; and the chamber
orchestras of Lausanne and Scotland.
Ling began playing piano at the age of four under
the tutelage of Suzy Djoeandy and Rudy Laban. He
studied piano and conducting at Juilliard, where
he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He
continued his conducting study at Yale School of
Music, where he earned a doctor of musical arts.
He was awarded the Leonard Bernstein Conducting
Fellowship at Tanglewood Music Center and the Los
Angeles Philharmonic Institute under Mr. Bernstein.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Wooster
College in 1993. Ling recently received the Bravo
Classical Music Icon Lifetime Achievement Award
from San Diego County for his contribution to
enriching the cultural life of San Diego. He makes
his home in San Diego with his wife, Jessie, and
their young daughters Priscilla and Stephanie.
JAHJA LING
Guest Conductor
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