Korean conductor Hyeju Jung, based in Germany, came to international attention with her First Prize win at the Lake Como International Conducting Competition 2021. Prior to this achievement, she was a finalist at the Arthur Nikisch International Conducting Competition 2020 and the 2nd European Union Conducting Competition 2020, where she was selected from a field of more than 300 applicants worldwide.
Hyeju Jung has collaborated with orchestras and ensembles throughout Europe.
Her artistic focus encompasses the symphonic repertoire, ranging from the Classical and Romantic traditions to contemporary music.
Since 2022, she has been Music Director of the Junge Orchester Hamburg. She has appeared as a guest conductor with numerous distinguished orchestras, including the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Southwest German Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonia, the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, the Orchestra Sinfonica della Città Metropolitana di Bari, the Lake Como Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jyväskylä Symphony Orchestra, and the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra.
Alongside her symphonic activities, Hyeju Jung is equally dedicated to opera. In South Korea, she collaborated with the Korea Chamber Opera Festival at the Korea National Theater in productions including Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and The Magic Flute, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Mozart and Salieri. In Germany, she conducted performances of Eduard Künnecke’s Der Vetter aus Dingsda at the Opernschule Würzburg and Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the Ensemble Neue Musik Würzburg. Her work in contemporary music includes performances of Elliott Carter’s Canon for 4 and the world premiere of Aydin Leon Pfeiffer’s Study at the Tage der Neuen Musik Würzburg. During the 2021/22 season, she also worked as vocal and choir coach for the premiere of the art musical Undine at the Theater Chemnitz.
After studying composition at Sangmyung University and organ at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, Hyeju Jung moved to Germany to continue her musical education. She earned a Master of Music in Organ from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig, studying with Prof. Martin Schmeding and Prof. Thomas Lennartz, and also studied at Rice University in Houston with Prof. Ken Cowan. She subsequently pursued conducting studies with Prof. Ari Rasilainen at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, where she earned her Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting. Prior to this, her conducting studies were complemented by coaching with Prof. Georg Christoph Sandmann. Her artistic development has further been shaped through masterclasses and workshops with Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Riccardo Frizza, Johannes Schlaefli, John Axelrod, Lior Shambadal, Bruno Weil, and Alim Shakh.