Korean conductor selected from more than 300 applicants
Kyungmin Park will be the new assistant conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and the new junior assistant conductor at the Dutch National Opera from the 2025-2026 season. After an extensive selection process, Park emerged as the most suitable candidate. Park will first assist former chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti with the concerts at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam on 19 and 20 September. He follows a series of assistant conductors who have since made significant strides in the classical music world.
‘We see many conductors who are technically quite advanced, but there are only a few conductors who really know how to influence the sound of the orchestra,’ says artistic director Willem de Bordes. ‘Communication is the most important thing here, but it is often elusive. When Kyungmin Park conducted the orchestra, it sounded completely different in a second, which is remarkable.’
Selection procedure
The assistantship with the Netherlands Philharmonic and Dutch National Opera is unique in Europe; there is no other place where a young conductor is coached in both symphonic music and opera. Interest in this position is therefore overwhelming; more than 300 conductors from all over the world have applied with videos. From these, only twelve candidates have been selected and invited to audition live with the Netherlands Philharmonic. The candidates are assessed on their communication skills, understanding of the score, working methods, conducting technique and artistic choices.
Former assistant conductors
The position of assistant conductor has existed since 2015, and all the conductors who have held the position since then are now making a splash in the classical music world. Portuguese conductor Nuno Coelho (assistant conductor from 2015 to 2017) made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 2023. Portuguese-Polish conductor Jan Wierzba (2017-2019) is making a name for himself in Portugal and has conducted the Gulbenkian Orchestra, among others. Turkish-Italian Nil Venditti (2019-2021) made her debut at the BBC Proms with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in 2024. Italian Giuseppe Mengoli (2021-2023) won first prize at the prestigious Mahler Competition in Bamberg in 2023. Spanish conductor Alejandro Cantalapiedra (2023-2025) will be working on projects with the Valencia Opera, the Dutch Reisopera and the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias.
Kyungmin Park
Kyungmin Park comes from Jecheon in South Korea and studied orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin. He was a finalist at renowned international conducting competitions in Besançon and Slobozia and took masterclasses with Alan Gilbert and Sir Donald Runnicles. He has previously worked with Christoph Eschenbach and conducted orchestras such as the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Romanian Chamber Orchestra and Orchestre Victor Hugo. Park is looking forward to his time with the Netherlands Philharmonic: ‘I am very grateful to be part of this wonderful community and to have the opportunity to build a genuine relationship for the future.’
The appointment of assistant conductor is in principle for one season and can be extended for another season. In addition to the annual Feestconcert in December and concert productions with Lorenzo Viotti (January, March and May 2026) and Sir Mark Elder (February 2026), Park will also assist at the Dutch National Opera. In November-December, he will assist conductor Valentin Uryupin in Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans ; in April-May, he will assist Adam Hickox in Weinberg's Die Passagierin .