Shiyeon Sung
Shiyeon Sung is an internationally established and experienced conductor, who captivates audiences as a true architect of sound. With her natural, compelling energy and grace, she leads and inspires at the highest level.
As the first South Korean woman to take the podium of leading international orchestras, she regularly returns to the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Her wide-ranging repertoire focuses on the great masterworks of the 19th and 20th centuries, while also encompassing contemporary music.
The Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla appointed her Principal Guest Conductor starting in the 2025/26 season. Following a triumphant debut featuring acclaimed concerts—in which El Correo de Andalucía praised her for "eliciting an impressive performance from the orchestra" and "infusing a vibrant touch of sensuality alongside sparkling, playful rhythms"—she continues her tenure into the current 2026/27 season, leading programs centered on Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony as well as the Ninth Symphonies of Glazunov and Shostakovich.
From 2023 to 2025, she served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Auckland Philharmonia in New Zealand. Shiyeon Sung has appeared as guest conductor with an impressive list of orchestras. Recent engagements include appearances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquestra de València.
After winning both the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition and the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Bamberg, her formative years in the American tradition began in 2007 as Assistant Conductor to James Levine at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Concurrently, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra created the position of Associate Conductor specifically for her, a role she held from 2009 to 2014.
From 2014 to 2017, she led the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra as Chief Conductor, propelling the ensemble to international acclaim with milestones including a recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony for Decca and a guest performance at the Musikfest Berlin. In doing so, she set new benchmarks as the first woman to lead a major South Korean orchestra.
Raised in Busan, South Korea, where she celebrated early success as a young pianist, Shiyeon Sung has found a second home in Berlin. It was at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler” where she mastered her conducting craft under the tutelage of Rolf Reuter. Since then, the free spirit and vibrant symphonic tradition of Berlin have shaped her artistic work.