Conductor Chaowen Ting has been cited for her “enlightening and engaging” (Earrelevant) guidance and “stylish and clear” musical direction (ConcertoNet) in performances of opera, orchestral and chamber works. Acclaimed by critics for her “brilliant” interpretations and “remarkable nuances,” she seeks to democratize classical music by creating opportunities for diverse voices. With a deep desire to connect people through music, Ting is recognized for her empathetic leadership, strong connection with audiences, and advocacy for equity within the music industry. The Atlanta-based Taiwan native conducts the Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra and also serves as Music Director of the North America New Chamber Opera Festival in Ohio.

In the 2023-24 season, Ting returns to The Atlanta Opera  and will conduct the world premiere of Forsyth County is Flooding, a chamber opera commissioned by TAO by composer Marcus Norris and librettist Adamma Ebo, the 2022 winners of the 96 Hour Opera Project. In 2024, she joins Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie and Maestro Sergi Gili Solé as assistant conductor for the performance of Verdi’s Requiem at the Philharmonie Berlin.

Ting opened the 2022-23 season with her company debut at Opera Orlando in a production of Die Zauberflöte, about which The Orlando Sentinel wrote, “Conductor Chaowen Ting gets beautiful sound from the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra.” In 2023 she makes her company debut with the South Carolina Philharmonic and joins the Allentown Symphony Orchestra as a Conducting Fellow. She was also recently seen as assistant conductor for The Atlanta Opera’s production of Don Giovanni.

Ting previously has held positions as the assistant conductor of the Augusta Symphony, Conducting Fellow of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor of the Peabody Youth Orchestra, and Music Director of Cincinnati Sinfonietta; and has led ensembles including the BBC Concert Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, and orchestras in Switzerland, France, Norway, Germany, Croatia, and Honduras.

A recent alum of The Dallas Opera Hart Institute for Women Conductors, Ting’s varied career began at the National Taiwan University where she studied law. She went on to devote her life to music, earning her master’s degree from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati and her DMA from the Eastman School of Music. She has been a recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Fellowship and served as a Conducting Fellow of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. In 2022 Ting was chosen as a quarterfinalist in Paris’s La Maestra Conducting Competition.

An advocate of new music, Ting has conducted over twenty world premieres and has continued to champion living composers by actively commissioning music for large ensembles. In 2017, she led Opera Philadelphia in a special workshop with its Composer- in-Residence Rene Orth to develop the composer’s new opera, Machine. In her capacity as Music Director of the North America New Opera Festival (NANOWorks Opera), Ting helps to expand the operatic repertoire through workshops and productions of short chamber operas by emerging composers in North America.

Ting seeks to present orchestral music in ways that excite not only the ears, but also the eyes and mind, interweaving new compositions with culturally relevant themes and interdisciplinary presentations. Examples include a recent production of The Seven Bridges of Königsberg sponsored by MIT, which combined dancers, science and math; and the Georgia premiere of Oceana, an orchestral work composed by Stella Sung that integrates film and a smartphone app to bring awareness to marine noise pollution.

Ting has been the recipient of multiple grants and awards for her leadership in initiatives aimed at advocating equity, inclusivity, and diversity in the field of classical music. She serves as an orchestral division panelist with And We Were Heard, bringing quality recordings of works by underrepresented groups to light; is a co-founder of the Accessible Diverse Orchestral Repertoire Equity (ADORE) Project, committed to broadening and diversifying the orchestral canon; and is the Founder and Artistic Director of Girls Who Conduct, a program built to mentor and empower the next generation of women and women-identifying artists. Ting also hosts The Conductor’s Podcast, a space she created for conductors and students alike to learn more about the profession and industry.

In her free time, Ting enjoys reading, traveling, and learning about how human behavior relates to leadership and connection within the music world.

Updated September 2023