국립심포니오케스트라(KOREAN NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA)

Elias Peter Brown (b 1995 / The USA)

• First Prize & Orchestra Prize

Los Angeles-born conductor Elias Peter Brown began his studies of conducting at age 17 in St. Petersburg, Russia. After graduating with honors from Yale University and the Royal Academy of Music, he became a laureate of the Khachaturian International Conducting Competition in 2021, receiving the Third Prize. He also recently took the Second Prize in the inaugural Lake Como Conducting Competition. Elias has led the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Berliner Symphoniker, Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble MusikFabrik, Ensemble Modern, Zafraan Ensemble, Divertimento Ensemble, Yale Symphony Orchestra, Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Chamber Philharmonic.

As an assistant, he has prepared orchestras for Oliver Knussen, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, Jac van Steen, and Andreas Stoehr. Fiercely passionate about arts education, Elias has been a regular teaching artist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, worked as a guest conductor at the Junior Royal Academy of Music, and as a mentor for the art and community-building project ‘Gakko’ in Japan and France. Also an accomplished trumpet player, Elias has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, and principal trumpet at Chicago Symphony Hall, The Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Mariinsky Theatre, and Moscow's Tchaikovsky Hall.

His principal teachers are Sian Edwards and Daniel Boico, and he has appeared in masterclasses with Marin Alsop, Mark Stringer, Robert Treviño, Alexander Polishchuk, and Martyn Brabbins, among others. Elias has also received mentorship from Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gerard McBurney. In autumn 2021, he will begin advanced studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin under the tutelage of Steven Sloane and Harry Curtis.

Hankyeol Yoon (b 1994 / Republic of Korea)

• Second Prize & Audience Prize

Born in Daegu, South Korea in 1994, Hankyeol Yoon worked as a Kapellmeister at the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic Orchestra from 2019 to 2021. Previously he worked as an assistant conductor at Staatstheater Nürnberg, Grand Théâtre de Genève and at Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra/Heidenheim Opera Festival. He is currently a scholarship holder of Dirigentenforum.

In 2019 Hankyeol Yoon, at the age of 25, became the youngest winner of the Neeme Järvi Prize (the first prize of the conducting competition) from the Gstaad Menuhin Festival in Switzerland. As the prizewinner, he is invited to conduct the Basel Symphony Orchestra and the Bern Symphony Orchestra.

Hankyeol Yoon is currently one of the finalists at the German Conductors’ Award 2021. Previously he was a finalist(4th place) at the Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition in 2020, received the third prize at the Hans von Bülow Conducting Competition 2021, and third prize at the German Music Competition “CAMPUS Conducting” 2018 in Nürnberg.

He recently conducted such orchestras as Basel Chamber Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, Staatskapelle Weimar, Beethoven Orchestra Bonn, and Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra.

From 2011 to 2021, he studied conducting (Marcus Bosch, Georg Fritzsch and Alexander Liebreich), composition(Isabel Mundry) and piano (Yuka Imamine) at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in München, and completed bachelor’s and master’s program there.

As composer Hankyeol Yoon won the second prize at the Luciano Berio International Composition Competition in 2020, the second prize at the TonaLi composition competition in Hamburg in 2018, the third prize and the audience prize at the Geneva International Music Competition in 2017, the second prize at the Varel Composition Competition in 2016, the second place at the Geneva International Music Competition in 2015, and the third prize at the Günter Bialas Composition Competition in 2015. He is one of the comissioned composers at the Peter Eötvös Foundation in Budapest since 2019.

Linhan Cui (1994 / China)

• Third Prize

Linhan Cui was born in Shenyang, China. Linhan started as a conductor since 2012 when she was the only accepted conducting student at Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory. Ms. Cui completed her undergraduate studies at Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou. She earned her master degree from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, now she is a Doctor of Musical Arts student in orchestral conducting at Indiana University, College-Conservatory of Music.

Linhan appointed to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, USA as conducting fellow for the 2019-2020 season, where she worked as Marin Alsop’s cover conductor.

Linhan has been instructed by many famous conductors such as Marin Alsop, Arthur Fagen and Ming Liu. Ms. Cui assisted more than 50 concerts during her assistant career, working with many world-renowned maestros such as Leon Fleisher and Xian Zhang.

Linhan has conducted Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Xinghai Symphony Orchestra, Xinghai Chamber Orchestra, Peabody Symphony Orchestra, Peabody Chamber Orchestra, and participated in a masterclass with USA National Symphony Orchestra, etc.

In 2021, Linhan won the second prize in Malko International Conducting Competition.

Chi-Yong Chung (Chairman / Republic of Korea)

One of the most sought-after conductors of his generation in Korea, Chi-Yong Chung is highly regarded for his vivid interpretations, deep musical insights, strong ensemble leadership, and virtuoso baton technique. In particular, he is well-known as a specialist in modern music and Korean composers’ new works including Isang Yun’s music.

Chung began his piano studies at age five and later entered the prestigious Seoul National University School of Music as a composition major. He then graduated from the conducting class of Michael Gielen at the Salzburg Mozarteum in Austria. Chung served as Assistant Conductor of the Salzburg International Summer Festival and was awarded the Austrian Culture Ministry Award upon graduation.

Following appearance as guest conductor of the Radio Symphony of Leipzig, Prague Radio Symphony, Munich Symphony, Michigan State Symphony, and Russian Philharmonic, he made his debut in Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic in 1992. Chung has conducted numerous Korean orchestras such as the KBS Symphony, Bucheon Philharmonic, Daegu Philharmonic, Daejon Philharmonic, Changwong Philharmonic, Incheon Philharmonic where he served as music director.

He is also renowned for his work as an opera conductor. In addition to leading many operas of the Italian, French, and German repertoires, Chung has premiered new Korean works for the stage including, <Apron-Weared Soldiers> by Keung-Soo Lim, <A Buckwheat Flower Season> by Hyeon-Ok Kim, and <Kim Koo and Interim Government in Shanghai> by Dong-Hoon Lee.

Chi-Yong Chung is the foremost champion of the music of Isang Yun, having led the Korean premieres of numerous works, including <Symphony No.1>, <Engel in Flammen: Memento for Orchestra with Epilogue>, as well as operas such as <Der Traum des Liu-Tung> and <Die Witwe des Schmetterlings>.

From 2018 to January 2021, he was as an artistic director of the Korean Symphony Orchestra. He currently works for the School of Music at the Korean National University of the Arts, where he is leading the education of the next generation of Korean musicians. His past positions include the chairmanship of Korean Conductors Association. Among his many distinctions, Chung received the Soo-Keun Kim Culture Award, Young Artist Prize of Korean Culture Ministry, Music Association of Korea Award, and the Korean Music Journalists Association Award.

Rachel Bowron (The UK)

After studying Music at Durham University, Rachel worked in the music agency business on both sides of the Atlantic, discovering and developing the careers of emerging conductors. Firstly, at Opus3 Artists (formally ICM Artists) she served as Manager and Vice President, where she secured new artists for the agency, and built the careers of young conductors. From 2000, Rachel worked with Marin Alsop, overseeing all aspects of her career, a relationship that has lasted for 20 years.

Most recently Rachel has worked on a variety of creative projects with iTunes and the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship. Her current project is the creation and coordination of RVW150, the international celebration of the 150th anniversary of Ralph Vaughan Williams. Rachel also consults for the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, and is working with them to create a new festival of Polish culture which launches in the UK in November 2022. Rachel is also a popular speaker at international industry gatherings, including IAMA and the League of American Orchestras.

Christian Ehwald (Germany)

Christian Ehwald was born in 1953. After the completion of his studies in Berlin, he continued his education under Arvid and Mariss Jansons at the Leningrad Conservatory. In 1979 he became a laureate of the “Herbert von Karajan” International Conducting Competition.

From 1981 to 1988 Christian Ehwald was the main conductor of the Jena Philharmonic. It was also during this time that his close cooperation with the Berlin State Opera began, with Ehwald conducting several premieres and numerous performances. In addition, he conducted the Berlin State Orchestra on concert tours in Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand.

Christian Ehwald has gone on to perform as a guest conductor with all the leading German orchestras, including Berlin Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Dresden Philharmonic and Munich Radio Orchestra, Western German Radio Köln and Berlin Radio. Invitations from the Gewandhaus Orchestra of Leipzig have followed especially frequently. Abroad, Christian Ehwald has served as a guest conductor with many important orchestras in Europe, America, Japan, Korea and China. He has appeared in numerous television productions with the NHK Orchestra Tokyo, St.Petersburg Philharmonic, RAI of Rome, Prag Symphony and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.

From 1998 to 2003 Christian Ehwald was the General Music Director of the Magdeburg Theater and principal conductor of the Magdeburg Philharmonic. In 2002 he was appointed professor at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. Since 2007, he has been the Art Director and Chief-Conductor of the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra.

Frank Huang (The USA))

Frank Huang joined the New York Philharmonic as Concertmaster in September 2015. Since performing with the Houston Symphony at the age of 11 he has appeared with orchestras throughout the world including The Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra of Hannover, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, and the Genoa Orchestra. Mr. Huang has had great success in competitions since the age of 15 and received top prize awards in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition and the Indianapolis International Violin Competition. The First Prize Winner of the 2003 Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s Violin Competition and the 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition, he has established a major career as a violin virtuoso.

In addition to his solo career, Mr. Huang is deeply committed to chamber music. He is a member of the New York Philharmonic String Quartet. Before joining the Houston Symphony as concertmaster in 2010, Frank Huang held the position of first violinist of the Grammy Award–winning Ying Quartet and was a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music.

Frank Huang was born in Beijing, China. At the age of seven he moved to Houston, where he commenced study with Fredell Lack at the University of Houston. Then, he studied with Donald Weilerstein at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) where he completed the pre-college program and Bachelor’s degree. He subsequently attended The Juilliard School in New York City, studying violin with Robert Mann. He served on the faculties of The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and University of Houston, and currently serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School.

Florian Riem (Germany)

Born in Munich, Germany, Florian Riem studied at the Munich Conservatory and at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, USA. Working in arts management since 1999, he has held leading positions at Gidon Kremer´s Kremerata Baltica Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa (Japan) and the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra of Constance, Germany.

From 2013 to 2020, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Director of the Tongyeong International Music Foundation in Tongyeong, South Korea, where he was responsible for Tongyeong Concert Hall, the Tongyeong International Music Festival, the international ISANGYUN Competition, and many other projects.

Florian Riem has been a board member of AAPPAC (Association of Asia-Pacific Performing Arts Centres), ISCM (International Society of Contemporary Music), and Ensemble TIMF (Contemporary Music Ensemble). Since 2020, he is Secretary General of the WFIMC (World Federation of International Music Competitions) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Steven Sloane (The USA)

American-Israeli conductor Steven Sloane served as music director of the Spoleto Festival USA, Opera North in Leeds, and the American Composers Orchestra, as principal conductor of the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and as artistic director of “Ruhr.2010” Capital of Culture.

Since 1994, Steven Sloane has been general music director of the Bochum Symphony, which he transformed into one of Germany’s leading orchestras. He was instrumental in the building and realisation of the orchestra’s own music center, the Anneliese Brost Musikforum Ruhr, inaugurating the hall in 2016 to international acclaim.

In September 2020, Steven Sloane took up his new post as Music Director of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, introducing several meaningful concert series including the Holocaust Remembrance Day and Independence Day concerts. At the end of 2021, he will conduct a tour to Germany, including a joint performance of Gustav Mahler's 2nd Symphony with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra, with which he will bid farewell to Bochum as General Music Director. He will continue his connection with the Bochum Symphony in the new title of Honorary Conductor for Life.

Steven Sloane is a frequent guest with prestigious orchestras, including London Philharmonic Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan, as well as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Netherlands Philharmonic. Also, since 2018, Steven Sloane has been Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor at Malmö Opera. As a sought-after opera conductor, he has been welcomed at houses such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin and San Francisco Opera.

Mentoring young musicians has always been important to Steven Sloane. He has regularly conducted youth orchestras such as Junge Deutsche Philharmonie and Young Israel Philharmonic, and since 2013 he has served as professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin, where he founded the International Conducting Academy Berlin.

Peter Stark (The UK)

Peter Stark is Rehearsal Director to the European Union Youth Orchestra, a Professor of Conducting at London’s Royal College of Music, and Distinguished Professor of Conducting at the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He has taught over six hundred private students, and his acclaimed courses in conducting have taken him across the world. His reputation as a teacher and mentor is internationally renowned.

Peter’s growing media profile includes his appointment as series consultant to the popular BBC television series ‘Maestro’ and regular screen appearances as a mentor. For this role Peter was responsible for the training of eight ‘celebrity’ students as orchestral conductors. Peter has since made live ‘Maestro’ webcam commentaries for the BBC Proms and a subsequent TV series.

Whilst having performed with a number of the world’s leading ensembles such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hallé, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra Peter fosters a hunger to work with any orchestra that plays with spirit and enthusiasm.

In addition to his work with the world’s finest students Peter has conducted youth orchestras ranging from the Hertfordshire County Youth Orchestra (Principal Conductor since 1994) to the New South Wales Public Schools’ Symphony Orchestra in Australia, the Ung Filharmonie of Norway and the Toyota City Orchestra in Japan. He is Principal Conductor to the Arabian Youth Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor of the Singapore National Youth Orchestra. Between 1985 and 2010 Peter was Conductor in Residence of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

Sigmund Thorp (Preliminary round / Norway)

Sigmund Thorp is one of Norway’s leading conductors. In addition to having conducted all the Norwegian orchestras, he has held numerous concerts with orchestras in many European cities, including London, Paris, Berlin and St. Petersburg.

He was the 1st. Prize winner of Biel International Conducting Competition 1989, and he also won 2nd prize in the Austrian-Hungarian International Conducting Competition in Pecz, 1994.

He studied orchestral conducting with Norman Del Mar and Christopher Adey at Royal College of Music in London. During his studies, he won several prizes, including “The Tagore Gold Medal”, as the best male student 1986.

Sigmund Thorp is professor of conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo, educating tomorrow’s conductors, in addition to teaching contemporary music. He is artistic leader of the Norwegian Academy Sinfonietta, and has conducted more than 350 works by contemporary composers, of which a large number of national and international first performances.

Based on the theories and practices of Dr. Walter Hügler (Trossingen) Thorp has developed “The Anatomy of Conducting – a Method of Improving Conducting Technique”. The method has proven to be highly effective for the musical projection and for the non-verbal communication between the musicians and the conductor.

Sigmund Thorp has been Guest Professor at Trinity College of Music (London), the HAMU (Prague), Conservatorio Guiseppe Tartini (Trieste) and Kunstuniversität.