

Holly Hyun Choe
최현
2026-2029
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Principal Conductor (Sjefdirigent)
Orchestre national de Cannes
Music Director
Represented by Karsten Witt Musik Management
Photo by Emily Turkanik

2025/26 Season Debuts
Copenhagen Philharmonic
Wiener Symphoniker
Gürzenich Orchester Köln
Tapiola Sinfonietta
Gyeonggi Philharmonic
Stuttgart Philharmonic
Gothenburg Symphony
Orchestre National de Metz
Hamburg Staatsoper Philharmoniker
Orchestre de chambre Fribourgeois
Südwestdeutschen Kammerorchesters Pforzheim
Kiel Opera Philharmonic
Interlaken Classics Festival Orchestra

Holly Hyun Choe
Principal Conductor, Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Music Director, Orchestre National de Cannes
Biography
Born in South Korea and raised in Los Angeles, rising conductor Holly Hyun Choe is well known for her radiant presence, creative programming and compelling artistry on the podium. The 2025 recipient of the prestigious Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award from The Solti Foundation U.S., she has been named to two major leadership positions in 2026: Chief Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), where she conducted her inaugural concert in January 2026, and Music Director Designate of the Orchestre National de Cannes, beginning with the 2026/27 season.
A sought-after guest conductor in both Europe and the United States, 2025-26 season highlights include Holly Hyun Choe’s South Korea debut conducting the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Centre Orchestra Festival, her debuts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Gürzenich Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, and Orquesta Filharmonica Gran Canaria, subscription concerts with the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, as well as her final performance as Artiste associée with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, following such acclaimed projects as Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
Highlights of recent seasons include her hometown debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in May 2025, where she was a Dudamel Fellow, as well as returns to the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre de Paris, Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, and a tour with Kammerakademie Potsdam. She has also conducted the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and Odense Symphony Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Tucson, Spokane and Oakland in the United States.
Deeply committed to championing works by female composers, she has programmed, this past season alone, works by Kaija Saariaho, Joan Tower, Anna Meredith, Valerie Coleman, Julia Wolfe, Camille Pepin, Molly Joyce, Marta Kowalczuk, Charlotte Bray, Therese Ulvo, Grażyna Bacewicz, Ruth Gipps, Amy Beach, and Clara Schumann. Her most recent recoding features Ethel Smyth's large-scale Serenade for Orchestra for the album LAUTER! with Solaire records and Ensemble Reflektor.
Holly Hyun Choe’s previous posts include Principal Conductor of Ensemble Reflektor (2022-2025) and Assistant Conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under Paavo Järvi (2020-2022). Her musical journey began self-taught: she learned to play the clarinet at thirteen and only received her first formal lessons at nineteen. She studied conducting with Johannes Schlaefli at the Zurich University of the Arts (completed 2023), and with Charles Peltz at the New England Conservatory, and has assisted Esa-Pekka Salonen, Gustavo Dudamel, Fabio Luisi, Simone Young and Xian Zhang among others.
Her career has further been supported by a Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel Fellowship, the German Music Council's Forum Dirigieren, the Solti Foundation’s Career Assistance Award, a scholarship from the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, and the Peter Eötvös Foundation Mentoring Programme.
2025/2026 season
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Link to the artist page: https://en.karstenwitt.com/artist/holly-hyun-choe

Photo
Photo credits: Emily Turkanik
Contact
karsten witt musik management gmbh
Geisbergstr. 38
D-10777 Berlin
Deutschland
Karoline Jacob
kj@karstenwitt.com
+49 30 214 594-221
General Management











