Samueol Park wins 1st prize in the ARD Music Competition
Great joy also in our voice studies program: Baritone Samueol Park won 1st prize in this year's singing category at the ARD Music Competition in Munich. Samueol Park completed his master's degree with Prof. Ewa Wolak in spring 2024 and is currently completing his concert exam with her at the Eisler. From this 2024/25 season, he will be a member of the ensemble at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, having previously sung various roles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he was also a scholarship holder in 2021/22.
This year's ARD Music Competition, one of the largest international music competitions since 1952, took place in the wind quintet, voice, oboe and cello categories. A total of four 1st prizes, four 2nd prizes and six 3rd prizes were awarded. With 726 participants from 58 countries, there was a new record in the history of the competition, with 312 musicians admitted after the pre-selection.
Eisler students and Eisler alumni are thus continuing the schools's success story at the ARD Music Competition: in 2023, Trio Orelon won 1st prize as a piano trio and violist Haesue Lee was awarded 1st prize and the audience prize in the viola category. In 2021, violinist Seji Okamoto won 1st prize; in 2018, Eisler alumni from Trio Lux and Trio Marvin shared 3rd prize, with 2nd prize not being awarded. In 2017 it was alumni Sarah Christian (1st prize) and Kristīne Balanas (3rd prize, violin), in 2026 double bassist Wies de Boevé (1st prize).