Elim Chan, First Woman to Win the LSO Flick Competition

This year, young conductor Elim Chan has made history. The 28-year old student from the University of Michigan is the first woman to win the London Symphony Orchestra's Donatella Flick Competition. The first prize winner takes home £15,000 to support specialist studies and concert engagements, as well as a 1 year appointment with the London Symphony Orchestra as an assistant conductor. With this position, Ms. Chan will work directly with principal conductor Valery Gergiev and guest conductors Michael Tilson Thomas and Daniel Harding. For her final program, presented Monday as the final round for the competition, Ms. Chan conducted the LSO for Beethoven's Overture Egmont, Op. 84, Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Conducting such an orchestra in such a prolific program is obviously no small feat. Managing Director at the LSO, Katherine McDowell is quoted in The Guardian: "I hope Elim's great success will inspire other female conductors to step forward in the future." I could not agree more.