A regular presence in concert halls on five continents, conductor Perry So recently made his European operatic debut at the Royal Danish Opera in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, his North American operatic debut at Yale Opera with Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and returned to the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias as the orchestra’s Artistic Collaborator. Other debuts have been with the Szezecin Philharmonic in Poland, the Nürnberger Symphoniker both in Bavaria and on tour to Milan, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. Recent highlights include return visits to the Sinfónica de Tenerife and a seven-week tour of South Africa with three orchestras including a Verdi Requiem in Cape Town. In the coming season he will make debuts with the San Francisco Symphony, the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga.

Other debuts in recent years include the Cleveland and Minnesota Orchestras; Houston, Detroit, New Jersey, Israel, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras; the China Philharmonic; and the Residentie Orkest in the Hague. He has been a frequent guest both at Walt Disney Hall and the Hollywood Bowl following his stint as an inaugural Dudamel Conducting Fellow of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He led the Hong Kong Philharmonic with Lang Lang in an internationally televised celebration of the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China at the close of his four years as Assistant, then Associate Conductor. He toured the Balkan Peninsula with the Zagreb Philharmonic in the first series of cultural exchanges established after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

So received both first prize and the Special prize at the Fifth International Prokofiev Conducting Competition in St. Petersburg. His recording of Barber and Korngold’s Violin Concertos with violinist Alexander Gilman and the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra was awarded the Diapason d’Or in January 2012. He has recorded extensively with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

He is known for his wide-ranging programming, including numerous world premieres on four continents and works from the Renaissance and the Baroque. He has conducted productions of Così fan tutte, Turn of the Screw, Giulio Cesare, Gianni Schicchi, and Die Fledermaus. His commitment to working with young musicians has taken him to the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Round Top Festival, Manhattan School of Music, the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts, and the Yale School of Music. He has assisted Edo de Waart, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Lorin Maazel, and John Adams. Born in Hong Kong, Perry So holds a degree in Comparative Literature from Yale University.