Alumnus Kyungmin Park Assistant Conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Korean conductor and Eisler alumnus Kyungmin Park has been selected from over 300 applicants to be the new assistant conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra for the 2025-2026 season, as well as junior assistant conductor at the Dutch National Opera. Park will assist Lorenzo Viotti and Sir Mark Elder at concerts in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and Valentin Uryupin and Adam Hickox at the Dutch National Opera. Kyungmin Park completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in orchestral conducting at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin under Prof. Alexander Vitlin.
‘We see many conductors who are technically very skilled, but there are only a few conductors who really know how to influence the sound of the orchestra,’ says artistic director Willem de Bordes. ‘Communication is the most important thing here, but it is often elusive. When Kyungmin Park conducted the orchestra, it sounded completely different within a second, which is remarkable.’
The assistant position with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dutch National Opera is unique in Europe; nowhere else are young conductors trained in both symphonic and operatic music. More than 300 conductors from all over the world applied with videos, and twelve candidates were invited to audition.
Kyungmin Park, born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1994, was a finalist in prestigious international conducting competitions in Besançon and Slobozia and took part in masterclasses with Alan Gilbert and Sir Donald Runnicles. He previously worked with Christoph Eschenbach and conducted orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Romanian Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre Victor Hugo.