John Young Shik Concklin

John Young Shik Concklin, conductor, is the tenth Music Director of the Spartanburg Philharmonic. He began as a violist in the Philharmonic, made his conducting debut in 2018 to wide acclaim with two John Williams concerts, returned as a Music Director Finalist in 2022, and came in at the last moment as a substitute conductor later that year. He is praised for his clear beat, strong sense of rhythm, inviting gravitas, and innovative mind.

Concurrently, John serves as Music Director of the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra and Conductor with the Atlanta Music Project and Piedmont Chamber Orchestra. For the 2023/24 season, he is also a Music Director Finalist with the Walla Walla Symphony in Washington State. John was National Finalist for the 2019-2020 American Prize in Conducting, has competed internationally at the Almaty Conducting Competition, the Nino Rota Conducting Competition, and as the only American in the Città di Brescia Conducting Competition, and has appeared numerous times to cover conduct the Atlanta, Nashville, and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras.

Previous positions include Associate Conductor of the Georgia Symphony, Assistant Conductor of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and faculty appointments at Vanderbilt, Clemson, Furman and Converse Universities He has been a fellowship conductor at the Aspen Music Festival, a teaching assistant at the Brevard Music Center, and a finalist at the New World Symphony and Debut Orchestras.

A flexible musician, John has also performed at the Super Bowl Halftime Show and has collaborated with Monica, a Grammy-winning R&B artist.

John studied at Vanderbilt and Yale Universities and the Cleveland Institute of Music. His mentors include David Zinman, Carl Topilow, Shinik Hahm, and Robin Fountain. He received further training from Lorin Maazel and Michael Tilson-Thomas.

John and his wife, Lauren Maxwell, co-founded Mozart for a Cause, an annual fundraising event for local causes.