

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
New York Philharmonic
ORF Radio Vienna Symphony
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Düsseldorfer Symphoniker
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
Aalborg Symphony Orchestra
Antwerp Symphony Orchestra
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Norwegian National Youth 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 assumed two major leadership positions in 2026.
In January 2026, she began her tenure as the new chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), entering into a promising, high-profile collaboration with a major, innovative, and versatile Nordic orchestra. With the 2026/27 season, she also serves as Music Director of the Orchestre national de Cannes, presenting a rich selection of core classical repertoire on the Côte d’Azur.
A sought-after guest conductor in both Europe and the United States, Holly Hyun Choe will make her debuts with the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Vienna Radio Symphony at Wiener Festwochen, including a world premiere of a work by Caroline Shaw.
Is it too many to mention Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Aalborg Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Antwerp Symphony, Düsseldorf Symphony?
Highlights of recent seasons include her Korean debut with the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Centre Orchestra Festival and her hometown debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in May 2025, where she was a Dudamel Fellow. She has also conducted the Vienna Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gürzenich Orchestra, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, Copenhagen Philharmonic, Orquesta Filharmónica de Gran Canaria, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
Deeply committed to championing works by female composers, she has programmed, this past season alone, works by Joan Tower, Anna Meredith, Missy Mazzoli, Valerie Coleman, Charlotte Bray, Grażyna Bacewicz, Therese Ulvo, and Julia Wolfe. Her most recent recording features Ethel Smyth’s large-scale Serenade for Orchestra on 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 as a self-taught musician: 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 in 2023) and with Charles Peltz at the New England Conservatory, and has assisted Gustavo Dudamel, Fabio Luisi, Simone Young, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Philippe Jordan, and Ludovic Merlot among others.
Her career has been further 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.
2026/2027 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
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