A recipient of the 2024 and 2023 Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S., Brazilian-American conductor Austin Chanu just concluded his tenure as the Assistant Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, where he assisted Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Austin made his subscription debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in April 2023 conducting Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Critics commended his interpretation saying, “the orchestra never sounded better as Chanu led with primal energy and shamanistic insight into the music…the orchestra matched Chanu’s confident leadership in a performance of searing energy and heart-thumping passion” (Broad Street Review). 

Austin recently placed 3rd in the Korean National Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Competition where he also was awarded the orchestra prize. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Filarmonica Banatul Timișoara, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, and Butler County Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with prominent conductors including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Bloomstedt, Stéphane Denève, and Marin Alsop. 

During the 23-24 and 24-25 seasons, Austin co-lead a project with The Philadelphia Orchestra to restore, rebuild, and elevate the underperformed works of American composer William Grant Still. Austin recently led the world premiere of a newly restored edition of Still’s Wood Notes that he helped create.

Austin has a passion for contemporary music, stemming from his own background as a composer. He served as a teaching artist and conductor for the LA Philharmonic Association's Associate Composer Program, as well as a Conducting Fellow at the 2022 Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, where he studied with conductor Cristian Măcelaru. He was commissioned by the Eastman School of Music to compose an orchestral work for the school’s centennial celebration and conducted its world premiere in the Fall of 2021.

Previously, Austin was Music Director for the Los Angeles Music and Art School, where he conducted and developed the artistic direction for the youth orchestra, choirs, and jazz band. Austin found it rewarding to draw on his Latino heritage to foster representation for the predominantly Latinx students and families in the program through repertoire selection. 

In addition to his orchestral background, Austin has extensive experience in jazz and musical theatre styles. While living in Los Angeles, he was a high-call woodwind performer for musical pit orchestras and jazz ensembles. 

Austin received a B.M. in Music Composition from the USC Thornton School of Music, graduating Magna cum Laude. He also graduated from the Eastman School of Music in with an M.M. in Orchestral Conducting.