Chief Conductor
Previous Permanent Conductor
KBS Symphony Orchestra
7th chief conductor (2010~2012 )
Shinik Hahm (Music Director)
Shinik Hahm has established himself as one of the most dynamic and exciting conductors of his generation. His guest-conducting appearances include engagements in North and South America, Europe and Asia. He has led orchestras in the world¡s most prestigious concert halls, such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Verizon Hall in Kimmel Center, Benaroya Hall in Seatle, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, Boston Symphony Hall, Rudolfinum in Prague, Seoul Arts Center, Tokyo Opera City Hall, and the National Theater of China.
As music director and chief conductor of the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Hahm led the orchestra on tour with concerts at the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall, the last of which was hailed by the New York Times as ¡°warm, sympathetic¡± and ¡°altogether respectable¡±. He previously served as music director of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra from 2001 to 2006, during which time the orchestra earned national attention and international acclaim through concert tours in USA and Japan.
Maestro Hahm is also passionately committed to the pedagogy of conducting. He has been a member of the conducting faculty at the Yale University School of Music since 1995. His students from Yale¡s conducting program have won top prizes at the Besancon, Pedrotti, Toscanini, and China National conducting competitions, and are active at the helm of various orchestras in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Hahm studied conducting at Rice University, where he received the Shepherd Society Award, and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize. In 1991, Hahm won the prestigious Gregor Fitelberg Competition for Conductors, and in 1995, Maestro Hahm was decorated by the Korean government with the Arts & Culture Medal for his significant contributions to classical music. He is also an energetic and avid soccer player.