Seattle Symphony music director Gerard Schwarz and executive director Thomas Philion announce the appointment of Carolyn Kuan as the Symphony's Douglas F. King Associate Conductor, beginning Sept. 1. Kuan has served as assistant conductor during the orchestra's current season and will conduct four performances of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" July 12-14.
Kuan is also assistant conductor of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, a post she has held since 2003. Prior to joining the Seattle Symphony conducting staff, she served as assistant conductor of the North Carolina Symphony and Baltimore Opera Company. An artist-in-residence in 2004 and 2005 at the New York City Ballet, Kuan has also performed with Bournemouth, Charleston, Detroit, National and San Francisco symphonies and the Boulder and Richmond philharmonics. Upcoming concerts include debuts with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Music Festival, South Carolina Philharmonic, Symphony of Southeast Texas and a return to San Francisco Symphony.
The recipient of numerous awards, Kuan holds the distinction of being the first female to be awarded the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship by Herbert von Karajan Centrum and American Austrian Foundation, which resulted in her residency at the 2004 Salzburg Festival. Winner of the first Taki Concordia Fellowship, she has received additional awards from Women's Philharmonic, Conductors Guild and Susan W. Rose Fund for Music.
Kuan graduated cum laude from Smith College and received a master of music from the University of Illinois and a performance diploma from the Peabody Conservatory. She has also worked with the BBC and Buffalo philharmonics, the Concordia Or-chestra, Orquesta Filamonica de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and the Nash and Scottish ensembles.
Kuan was appointed Seattle Sym-phony's assistant conductor in 2006 following a national search.
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