Emmy-nominated Chinese-American conductor, educator, arts administrator, and pianist Yun Cao is recognized for his musical versatility, vibrant podium presence, and compelling musicianship. His work spans symphonic repertoire, opera, chamber music, musical theater, and educational programming, with appearances at major venues including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Severance Hall, Chicago Symphony Hall, Lincoln Center, and concert halls across Asia and Europe.

Yun is entering his fourth season as Music Director of the Aurora Philharmonic. He has also served as Associate Conductor and General Manager of the Frost Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Frost Opera Theater at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, and Assistant Conductor of the Palm Beach Symphony from 2022 to 2025. In addition to his artistic leadership, he serves as Managing Director of JSGS Publishing and regularly consults arts organizations on artistic planning, orchestral operations, marketing strategy, audience engagement, and institutional development.

At the University of Miami, Yun has conducted productions of Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, Jonathan Dove’s Flight, and Mozart’s Così fan tutte, as well as world premieres, concerto collaborations, and family concerts. He was recently credited as Assistant Music Director and Audio Producer for an Emmy-nominated live recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, as well as a multimedia presentation of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, both broadcast on more than 200 PBS stations nationwide with Maestro Gerard Schwarz.

Deeply committed to music education and community engagement, Yun has presented outreach performances and lecture-recitals across the United States, including appearances for the Florida Honors Collegiate Council and the Virginia Music Educators Association. At Florida Gulf Coast University, his work helped inspire new student-faculty collaborative research initiatives within the Honors College. He has also curated family and educational programs including Let’s Go to China: From the Great Wall to the Yellow River and A TV Guide to the Orchestra, and has edited music for Cinderella and the Orchestra and a new orchestration of Carnival of the Animals.

Yun has received mentorship from distinguished conductors including Riccardo Muti, Gerard Schwarz, Cristian Măcelaru, Larry Rachleff, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. More >