Chicago’s Credo Music Festival Appoints New Director

David Chan, concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, will step into the role

Chicago's Credo Music Festival has appointed violinist and conductor David Chan as its new Director. Chan will step into the role for the 2025 festival and will serve for an initial term of three years.

The Credo Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2024, and has revised its offerings. This season, it will operate as a new orchestral institute. Students will perform alongside established players from major American orchestras and will receive encouragement and mentorship as a result.

David Chan has spent 24 seasons as the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In addition, he is the inaugural Music Director of New Jersey’s Montclair Orchestra, and the Music Director of Camerata Notturna, one of New York City’s foremost chamber orchestras.

He has appeared as a violin soloist with the MET Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, and Moscow State Symphony, among others.

A prizewinner at the Tchaikovsky and Indianapolis International Violin Competitions, Chan made his New York debut in 1995 at Avery Fisher Hall, and his Carnegie Hall debut in 2003. His teachers include Dorothy DeLay, Hyo Kang, and Michael Tseitlin, and he studied at Harvard University and the Juilliard School. Chan is currently on the faculty of both Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music (where he is Head of the School's Graduate Program in Orchestral Performance).

"After 25 years of consistent faculty and leadership, the Credo mission will prosper with this summer’s infusion of new energy and vision," said Peter Slowik, Credo's founder and artistic director. "While the format has developed to meet a new generation of musical leaders, the ideals and deeply personal nature of Credo’s work remain bedrock strong. David Chan is the perfect leader for this transition and beyond."

According to Chan, the appointment is "a uniquely meaningful opportunity where I can draw on every facet of my professional life — as conductor, violinist, and teacher — and also fulfill my personal callings to service and ministry."