F rancesco Lecce-Chong is recognized for his imaginative programming, dynamic performances, and visionary artistic leadership. Appointed Music Director of the Santa Rosa Symphony (SRS) before the age of 30, he has transformed the organization through bold artistic initiatives, innovative community partnerships, and an unwavering commitment to expanding access to orchestral music. In 2026, SRS reaffirmed that shared vision by signing Lecce-Chong to a landmark evergreen agreement and naming him Artistic & Music Director. Since joining SRS in 2018, Lecce-Chong has led more than 100 performances across the Classical Series, Symphony Pops, and Snoopy Family Concert Series. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he conceived and led the groundbreaking SRS@ Home digital concert series, allowing the orchestra to continue performing throughout the entire 2020–2021 season while many regional orchestras remained inactive. The series reached audiences around the world, generated record philanthropic support, and led to SRS’s first televised concert series in partnership with NorCal Public Media, bringing live orchestral performances into more than 2.8 million households. Those performances also formed the foundation of the Symphony’s first commercial recording, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s Cello Concerto with GRAMMY Award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey. Lecce-Chong has expanded SRS’s artistic impact through long-term creative projects. He launched the multi-year First Symphony Project, commissioning four American composers to write their first symphonies, and has introduced Road to 100, a complete Beethoven symphony cycle leading into the orchestra’s centennial season, and a presentation of all nine Mahler symphonies. His interdisciplinary productions, including The Magic Flute, have brought together musicians, students, dancers, visual artists, and community partners in uniquely collaborative performances. Under his leadership, SRS has expanded its commitment to new music through commissions while launching new performance series in wineries, Napa Valley, and Sonoma County libraries. His collaboration with the Institute for Music Education has strengthened connections between professional musicians and young artists through coaching, mentorship, and side-by-side performances. Beyond Santa Rosa, Lecce-Chong enjoys an active guest conducting career with many of North America’s leading orchestras, including the San Francisco Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Utah Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Internationally, he has appeared with the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, the Janáček Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Xi’an Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with distinguished artists including Renée Fleming and Itzhak Perlman. Trained also as a pianist and composer, Lecce-Chong studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, Mannes College of Music, and Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy before winning positions as Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Milwaukee Symphony. Lecce-Chong is the recipient of several distinctions, including the prestigious Solti Foundation Award. He has had the privilege of being mentored and supported by renowned conductors, including Bernard Haitink, David Zinman, Edo de Waart, Manfred Honeck, Donald Runnicles, and Michael Tilson Thomas. BIOGRAPHY Francesco Lecce-Chong, Artistic & Music Director Photo by Susan and Neil Silverman Photography srsymphony.org 2026-2027 Season 9
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