Kyungmin Park appointed new junior assistant conductor at Dutch National Opera and Netherlands Philharmonic
As of the 2025–2026 season, Kyungmin Park will be the new junior assistant conductor at Dutch National Opera and assistant conductor of the Netherlands Philharmonic. Following an extensive selection procedure, Park emerged as the most suitable candidate with great conviction. His first DNO production will be The Maid of Orleans, in which he will assist conductor Valentin Uryupin. The assistant conductor position is initially for one season and may be extended by one additional season.
Born in Jecheon, South Korea, Kyungmin Park studied orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin. He was a finalist in prestigious international conducting competitions in Besançon and Slobozia and took masterclasses with Alan Gilbert and Sir Donald Runnicles. He has previously collaborated with Christoph Eschenbach and conducted orchestras such as Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Romanian Chamber Orchestra and Orchestre Victor Hugo. Park looks forward to his time with the Netherlands Philharmonic: “I am very grateful to become part of this wonderful community and to have the chance to build a meaningful long-term relationship.”
Selection process
The assistantship at Dutch National Opera and the Netherlands Philharmonic is unique in Europe; there is no other place where a young conductor receives coaching in both symphonic music and opera. The interest in this position is therefore overwhelming – more than 300 conductors from all over the world applied with video submissions. Only twelve candidates were selected from this group and invited to do live auditions with the Netherlands Philharmonic. Candidates are assessed based on communication skills, score insight, working method, baton technique and artistic decision-making.
Former assistant conductors
The position of assistant conductor has existed since 2015, and all conductors who have held the position since then have gone on to build flourishing careers in the classical music world. Portuguese conductor Nuno Coelho (assistant conductor 2015–2017) made his debut with the Royal 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 conductor Nil Venditti (2019–2021) made her BBC Proms debut in 2024 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Italian conductor Giuseppe Mengoli (2021–2023) won first prize in the prestigious Mahler Competition in Bamberg in 2023. Spanish conductor Alejandro Cantalapiedra (2023–2025) is working on projects with the opera house in Valencia, the Nederlandse Reisopera and the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias.
