The South Korean conductor Shiyeon Sung is a real trailblazer of her profession. She is the first female conductor out of South Korea to make the leap to the podium of internationally renowned orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Since 2023, she has been the Auckland Philharmonia’s Principal Guest Conductor.

When she was appointed assistant conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2007, her reputation as one of the most exciting emerging talents on the international music circuit was already secure: shortly before, Shiyeon Sung had won the Solti and Mahler Conducting Competitions. During her three-year tenure in Boston, she began a close collaboration with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 2009 the orchestra established an associate conductor’s position especially for her, which she held until 2013. As chief conductor of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra from 2014 to 2017, she led the orchestra to
international success.

Shiyeon Sung has since worked with renowned orchestras including the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin, and Bamberg Symphony, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra Washington and Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

Shiyeon Sung’s 2023/24 season began at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by returns to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Seattle Symphony, as well as debuts with the Detroit Symphony, Vancouver
Symphony, Pacific Symphony and Adelaide Symphony amongst others.