A special concert took place Feb. 28 at Lotte Concert Hall with not one, but three conductors leading the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.
On the podium were Park Keun-tae, Song Min-gyu and Harris Han Andersen, the three conductors selected by orchestra members from the eight participants of the inaugural SPO Conducting Fellowship, which also included Kim Ri-ra, Kim Jun-young, Kim Hyo-eun, Shin Ju-ya and Choi Jae-hyuck.
The eight conductors participating in the five-day fellowship program were chosen from 59 applicants who applied last year.
At a press conference held on Feb. 26, SPO Artistic Director Jaap van Zweden explained that they were selected based on two criteria -- a genuine passion for their craft, and an active career as a conductor with experience working with orchestras across Europe, the US and other regions.
The young age of the conductors in the fellowship program suggests that Korean orchestras -- which often look abroad to hire renowned artistic directors -- may no longer need to search so far.
“In this country, you see very talented young pianists, violinists and other musical instruments but not enough young talented conductors. The problem is that they need to have their instruments -- orchestras -- and that is not always easy,” van Zweden told the audience after the concert. “So I thought, let’s open our door.”
While the artistic director emphasized that it is his “responsibility” to pass on his knowledge to the next generation, the participants expressed that even a few days of working with the orchestra was an invaluable experience.
“One of the most impressive and memorable aspects was how the maestro gave us time to rehearse thoroughly. This kind of deep exploration is not something that can be taken for granted. Yet, the maestro provided us with the opportunity to delve into the music with remarkable persistence, ensuring that we could push ourselves to the very end,” Song said during an interview on Feb. 26, adding “Through this experience, I learned so much about how to bring an orchestra to the next level and how to better approach the true intentions of a composer.”
After three days of rehearsals, Song, Park and Han took the podium for the final concert on Feb. 28.
Song, the winner of the 2023 Guido Cantelli International Conducting Award, conducted Wagner’s Prelude to Act 1 of "Tristan und Isolde" and "Liebestod." He was followed by Park Keun-tae, who led the orchestra in Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. Park, the first prize winner of the 2022 Opera de Bauge International Conducting Competition in France, is the principal conductor and deputy artistic director of the Neue Philharmonie Berlin. Hailing from the US, Han closed the program with Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra.
"They have different speed for growth but there is no doubt that they have unlimited potential. I'm very pleased also that there are female conductors," van Zweden said during the Feb. 26 press conference.
As for any advice he might have for the conductors, van Zweden said, "Be humble. Orchestras don't want to have authority by just being authority, but they want to see the authority of knowledge, what you know about how to fix (the sound.)
"Don't be in a hurry. If you are in a hurry, you can't see what's happening around you. Don't hunt for a career. A career will come to you if you're a good conductor," he said.
"Most importantly, you have to love what you do."
The conducting fellowship was also part of SPO’s attempt to look for its next associate conductor. David Yi, who served as associate conductor and assistant conductor from 2020 to 2025, took over as artistic director of the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra in January this year.
An official at the SPO told The Korea Herald on Monday that the appointment of a new associate conductor is still under discussion.
gypark@heraldcorp.com
