Kenneth Jean

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Conductor Kenneth Jean might be called a true cosmopolitan, both in his background and his musical career. Born in New York City and raised in Hong Kong, where he began his music studies, he resettled in San Francisco at 15 and later moved back to New York for studies at Juilliard. Jean has held conducting positions in both the U.S. and Hong Kong and, not surprisingly, possesses a highly eclectic repertory, inclusive not only of standards by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, and other well-known composers, but of works by Chinese contemporary figures like Gang Chen, Zhan-hao He, Hu-guang Xin, and other such unfamiliar composers. He has held conducting posts with a varied array of orchestras, as well, from front-rank ensembles like the Chicago Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra, to second-tier groups like the Florida Philharmonic, to far-off ensembles (though not to him) like the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Jean has appeared on countless recordings over the years, mostly for Naxos and its sister label Marco Polo. Kenneth Jean was born in New York City on October 25, 1952. Brought up and educated in Hong Kong, he returned to the U.S. in 1967 and enrolled at San Francisco State University, where he studied violin. Four years later he enrolled at Juilliard for studies in conducting. Among his teachers there was Jean Morel. Jean debuted at Carnegie Hall at age 20, leading a performance by the Youth Symphony Orchestra of New York, an ensemble he was then appointed to

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