American conductor 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.

He is committed to amplifying a range of different musical voices and stories—both historical and contemporary—that animate his consistently compelling programs, some of which have included works by Juan Pablo Contreras, Brian Raphael Nabors, Florence Price, and Carlos Simon, alongside iconic composers such as John Adams, Brahms, Dvořák, and Prokofiev, among many others.

During the 2022–2023 season, he makes major debuts at the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; National Symphony Orchestra and the Washington National Opera, both at the Kennedy Center; and NYO2, which he will conduct at Carnegie Hall and in residency in the Dominican Republic.  

Recent engagements include his San Francisco Symphony debut; inauguration of the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, in Johannesburg, South Africa; and the world premiere of William Menefield and Sheila Williams’s Fierce with the Cincinnati Opera. He has also appeared with the Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, New World Symphony Orchestra, Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música (Portugal), and the Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE (Spain), among others.

Earlier in his career, Joseph served as the Assistant Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony and 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. Currently a mentor himself, Joseph helps shape 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.

‍