Music Director & Conductor
American conductor Francesco Lecce-Chong has established himself as a respected leader in the orchestral world through his acclaimed performances, innovative projects, and passionate advocacy for the arts. He was appointed Music Director of two US orchestras—Eugene Symphony and the Santa Rosa Symphony—before he turned 30. With those groups, he successfully launched several groundbreaking projects, commissioning more than a dozen major orchestral works, and building innovative community partnerships. Now, in his seventh season leading the Santa Rosa Symphony, he has grown the orchestra’s reputation as one of the most exciting and important regional orchestras in the US with performances at one of the renowned concert halls in the world, the Green Music Center.
In the 2024/25 season, Francesco takes on the role of Artistic Partner with the Eugene Symphony, a newly created position which allows him to further develop his artistic vision with the orchestra.
Francesco regularly appears with major orchestras around the country from the San Francisco Symphony to the New York Philharmonic, collaborating with top soloists such as Renée Fleming and Itzhak Perlman. His subscription debut with the San Francisco Symphony was described by The San Francisco Chronicle as “first rate” and pointed out the “vitality and brilliance of the music-making he drew from members of the San Francisco Symphony.”
Through his leadership, Francesco has fostered an unparalleled dedication to the future of the orchestral art form through commissions, community initiatives, and arts education. One of his first large-scale endeavors was the “First Symphony Project,” which consisted of major commissions from the next generation of renowned composers across four seasons, complete with multiple residencies in the communities.
Francesco is equally committed to the opera repertoire, having first conducted performances of Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at age 24 in New York City. He continued to build his opera credentials as staff conductor with the Santa Fe Opera and leading performances with the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. More recently, he led Eugene Symphony through the most ambitious project in its history: a semi-staged presentation of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. In Santa Rosa, Francesco conducted and directed Mozart’s The Magic Flute, complete with his own original dialogue, in addition to partnering with a local arts high school to create a multi-disciplinary experience of the opera.
Trained also as a pianist and composer, Francesco 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. Francesco 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.