Biography

The Shanghai-born conductor, Tsung Yeh, has the distinction of being the very first conductor to ever hold simultaneous music-directorship of both a Western symphony orchestra and a Chinese orchestra. He presently serves as the Conductor Emeritus of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra (SCO) and Conductor Laureate of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra (SBSO).

As a brilliant innovator in his field, Maestro Yeh has built strong orchestras that have attracted new and old audience members alike. Since he has taken music directorship of the SCO, it has established itself as one of the finest Chinese Orchestras in the world for its unique repertoire and program. In 2005, he led the SCO on a tour through Europe, appearing at the Barbican Center in London, the Sage Gateshead, and the Budapest Spring Festival. Later in 2009, Yeh and the SCO made history by becoming the first Chinese Orchestra to perform in the opening week of the Edinburgh Festival. Yeh was awarded the Singapore Cultural Medallion in 2013, the highest Arts award given in Singapore. He is also the advisor to the Singapore National Youth Chinese Orchestra.

During his 28-year tenure as the Music Director, Yeh led the rapid development of the South Bend Symphony into one of the finest regional orchestras in the central United States. In 1995, he and the SBSO were honored with the ASCAP award for Excellence in Programming and Performing. 7 May 2016 was proclaimed “Tsung Yeh Day” by the Mayor of the South Bend City, Pete Buttigieg. Tsung Yeh is presently designated as the Conductor Laureate by the South Bend Symphony Orchestra Association. As recognition of his years of service in the community, on June 17, 2016, Yeh received the Sagamore of the Wabash Award from Indiana Governor Michael Pence.

Yeh has also held various positions in the past, including Music Director of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Sinfonietta; Principal Guest Conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra; Resident Conductor of the Florida Orchestra; and the Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.Yeh has conducted major orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, as well as the OrchestrePhilharmonique de Radio France and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, just to name a few. He is a frequent guest conductor with major orchestras in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Kuala Lumpur.Yeh also has made various recordings under the Delos, Naxos, and Hugo labels.

His previous appointments include the Principal Guest Conductor of the China Central Chinese Orchestra, Artistic Committee Member of the Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts and Senior Researcher of the He Luting Chinese Music Research Institute of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and a member of the Faculty of the International Conducting Institute (ICI) IN Czech Republic. In 2016, he was selected as one of the 10 Outstanding Conductors by the China Nationalities Orchestra Society. In the same year, Tsung Yeh was also appointed as the Expert of China Thousand Talents Programme.