Joseph Young balances a flourishing guest conducting career with leadership roles as Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony and Artistic Director of Ensembles at the Peabody Conservatory.

“Joseph Young has had quite a year … impressive,” wrote Washington Classical Review of his 2023 National Symphony Orchestra debut, which capped a year of debuts that included leading Jeanine Tesori’s Blue with Washington National Opera, the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl, and NYO2 at Carnegie Hall and on tour in the Dominican Republic, as well as collaborations with composer Du Yun, pianist Lara Downes, artist William Kentridge, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, and icon Debbie Allen. 

Other recent and upcoming guest engagements include the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música (Portugal), the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE (Spain), and the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra (South Africa). In July 2024, he will conduct the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the Cincinnati Opera’s world-premiere staging of the Liverpool Oratorio, Paul McCartney’s acclaimed 1991 work for orchestra, chorus, and soloists.

Earlier in his career, Joseph served as the Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony, Music Director of the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra, and Resident Conductor of the Phoenix Symphony. He also served as the League of American Orchestras Conducting Fellow at the Buffalo Philharmonic and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Joseph holds an Artist’s Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory, studying with Gustav Meier and Markand Thakar. Mentors include Jorma Panula, Robert Spano, and Marin Alsop, with whom he maintains an artistic partnership. Now a mentor himself, Joseph shapes the future of classical music through his dynamic engagements with major symphony orchestras, his steadfast commitment to teaching in classrooms and concert halls, and his service on the board of New Music USA.