In 2014, she became the first woman to win the major Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, kick-starting an international career that included a stint at the London Symphony Orchestra and opening the 2024 BBC Proms, Britain's top classical music festival.
"I love to surprise people," said Chan, 38, in an interview ahead of guest-conducting the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in November.
"When I started, people had super low expectations of me. They thought, yeah, a little Asian girl... What can she do?"
Her rise reflects how the classical music world is gradually being reshaped by a new generation of conductors.
Chan's most recent gig - a five-year tenure as principal conductor at the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra that ended in May - left her convinced that musicians need new ways to engage audiences in an age of easy distractions.
Many ensembles hit the reset button when the Covid-19 pandemic ended, but Chan said they should "incorporate things that they have learnt, and not just completely go back to what has been".
Plenty of mistakes were made including some early video productions that Chan admitted were "very bad" - but she said she would keep pushing.
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin December 04, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Straits Times dergisinin December 04, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
AGE-OLD CRAFT OF WEAVING CARPETS AT RISK
In southern Morocco, women are the guardians of the age-old craft of carpet weaving, an intricate art form that often leaves them with meagre earnings.
Zendaya and Tom Holland engaged, says US media
Spider-Man co-stars Zendaya and Tom Holland are engaged, American media reported on Jan 6, the day after she was spotted wearing a huge diamond ring.
Johnny Depp alerts fans to online scammers posing as him
Hollywood actor Johnny Depp has alerted his fans to online scammers impersonating him.
Singapore composer George Leong calls Dick Lee 'self-centred' amid emotional rant about music scene
Singaporean composer and musician George Leong has worked on some of the biggest hits of Mandopop and Cantopop, but in an impassioned Facebook post, the 54-year-old seemed to have thrown it all away.
Squid Game 2 Met With Backlash Over Vietnam War Reference
Squid Game 2, a dystopian drama in which hopeless people compete for survival by playing Korean children's games, is facing backlash from Vietnamese audiences over a remark on the Vietnam War (1955 to 1975).
68 S'pore writers sign statement on NLB's 'uncritical endorsement' of generative AI
Members of Singapore's literary community are calling on the National Library Board (NLB) to exercise greater prudence in adopting generative artificial intelligence (AI) or risk \"permanently damaging Singapore's literary landscape\".
Mediacorp disqualifies stolen designs from competition
Three illustrations submitted to a Mediacorp design competition have been removed from the media company's website and disqualified after they were found to have been stolen.
From bad boy to Better Man
Pop star Robbie Williams reflects on hedonism and healing for biopic
That very hot drink could be doing you harm
Drinking very hot beverages is a proven risk factor for oesophageal cancer
STRENGTH BAND-AID
Research suggests that resistance bands are as effective as weights at building strength
