Jahja Ling is a Christian of Reformed faith. He was born in Jakarta, Indonesia of Chinese parents and began playing piano at the age of four under the tutelage of Suzy Djoeandy and Rudy Laban.

Dr. Ling has attended the evangelistic rallies held by Reverend Stephen Tong for more than five decades and has volunteered for Rev. Tong’s evangelistic ministries since 1965 when he was just 13 years old. In 1978, they co-founded STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministries International), where he has served as the Vice President ever since. In this regard, Rev. Tong has been the most important spiritual mentor in his life.

JAHJA LING

In 1970 Dr. Jahja Ling was awarded the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund Grant to study piano at The Juilliard School under Mieczyslaw Munz and conducting under John Nelson. He continued his orchestra conducting study under Otto-Werner Mueller at Yale School of Music, and was awarded Leonard Bernstein Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood Music Center and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute where Mr. Bernstein became his most influential mentor. He earned a bachelor's and master's degree from The Juilliard School as a piano major and in 1985 a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral conducting from the Yale School of Music. As a pianist, Dr. Ling once won a bronze medal at the 1977 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Israel and was awarded a certificate of honor at the following year’s Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. He made his Cleveland Orchestra debut as a pianist in 1987 and has appeared as both soloist and conductor with a number of orchestras in the United States and internationally.

Dr. Ling is universally praised for his work as music director of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, having built the ensemble from of post-bankruptcy state into one of the top tier major orchestra during his 13 years tenure from 2004 to 2017. He has appointed more than 70 new musicians from all over the world to form this remarkable ensemble and together they have collaborated with world's greatest soloists such as Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Emanuel Ax, and others. In October of 2013, Dr. Ling led the orchestra in a sold out concert at Carnegie Hall with Lang Lang as soloist, followed by a tour to China where they appeared in five concerts in Yentai (San Diego's sister city), Shanghai, and Beijing with soloists Joshua Bell and Augustin Hadelich. This was the first international tour and the first appearance of the San Diego Symphony at Carnegie Hall in its 102 year history. Both the mayor and city council of San Diego proclaimed May 28, 2017 as “Jahja Ling’s Day” respectively.

Dr. Ling also holds a special relationship with one of the world’s greatest orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra, beginning in 1984 and continuing for 38 seasons, having conducted more than 550 concerts over 600 works. He has held the position of Associate Conductor (1984-85), Resident Conductor (1985-2002), Blossom Festival Director (2000-2005), and as regular guest conductor in every season since 2005, making him the conductor who has conducted this ensemble for the longest time in its 105 years history. He has also led the Orchestra for millions of audience in its annual downtown concerts as well as the most number of concerts in its Blossom Festival’s history. His telecast of A Concert in Tribute and Remembrance with the Orchestra for 9/11 in 2011 received an Emmy Award. The U.S. House of Representatives presented a Congressional Record of his outstanding achievements in the U.S. Capitol in September 2006. As music director of the Florida Orchestra, Dr. Ling was the first classical music conductor ever invited to conduct at a Super Bowl where he conducted Whitney Houston in the legendary national anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. It was televised to 750 million viewers worldwide and their recording went platinum. It is commonly acknowledged as the best rendition of the US National Anthem to date.

Dr. Ling made his European debut with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1988 on the invitation of Kurt Masur, who had been his closest mentor throughout his musical life. In 1983 Mayor/Senator Dianne Feinstein invited Jahja Ling to conduct a special concert in Davies Hall, San Francisco for a state visit of England’s Queen Elizabeth II.

As part of the commemoration marking the return of Hong Kong to China, Dr. Ling led the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Hong Kong in May 1997. In May 2000 his gala performance with the St. Louis Symphony and cellist Yo-Yo Ma was featured on the ABC News program 20/20. In 2001 Dr. Ling was invited to conduct the Super World Orchestra, an orchestra comprised of principals of 30 of the most prominent orchestras in Europe, America and Asia for performances in Osaka and Tokyo. In 2009 he conducted the Worldwide Chinese Festival Orchestra in the new National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, an orchestra comprised of the best Chinese musicians who hold major positions with the world’s most prestigious orchestras. His performance was telecast by Chinese Central Television (CCTV) and was made available for video streaming on their website.

Dr. Ling is acclaimed not only for his interpretation of the standard repertoire, but also for the breadth of contemporary music included in his programs. Among the world premieres he has conducted are works by William Bolcom, Paul Chihara, Gordon Chin, Daniel Kellogg, George Perle, Bright Sheng, Alvin Singleton, Augusta Read Thomas, Michael Torke, Mark Anthony Turnage, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, with orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, The Florida Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and San Diego Symphony.

Jahja Ling’s distinguished career as an internationally renowned conductor has earned him an exceptional reputation for musical integrity, intensity and expressivity. Having conducted all of the major symphony orchestras in North America including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, as well as many prominent orchestras in four continents — Dr. Ling has had the privilege of meeting people from all kinds of places and he makes sure to regard the Lord’s glory at the top of it all.

As the maestro himself would put it: