David Lee, Former Associate Conductor of Seoul Philharmonic, Appointed New Artistic Director of Gangnam Symphony

David Lee, former associate conductor of the Seoul Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, has been appointed as the artistic director and principal conductor of the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra, the Gangnam Cultural Foundation announced on the 10th.

The Gangnam Cultural Foundation stated that following a public recruitment process conducted over two months starting in November last year, including three rounds of evaluations such as document screening and interviews, and a recommendation from the Gangnam Arts Group Steering Committee, David Lee was selected as the final successful candidate for the artistic director position. David Lee’s term as the new artistic director will last for two years, until January 8, 2027.

Chairman Lee Ja-yeon (left) of the Gangnam Cultural Foundation and David Lee, the newly appointed artistic director and principal conductor of the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra
[Photo by Gangnam Cultural Foundation]

Artistic Director David Lee earned his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the New England Conservatory and Yale University Graduate School. He has guest conducted numerous symphony orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, Daejeon Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and Pohang City Symphony Orchestra.

In 2016, he was selected by the world-renowned maestro Riccardo Muti at the Italian Opera Academy held in Korea and received mentorship. Recently, he has been actively working as an opera conductor for productions such as the National Opera’s La Traviata and the Seai Unhyung Cultural Foundation’s The Puritans. From 2020, he served as associate conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra for five years.

New artistic director David Lee expressed his aspirations, saying, “I will devote myself wholeheartedly to strengthening the artistic achievements that the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra has built so far, discovering and expanding new values of classical music based on Gangnam’s diverse cultural attractions, and sharing and enjoying them together with the audience.” His inaugural concert is scheduled to be held on February 18 at 7:30 PM at the Seoul Arts Center, coinciding with the 108th regular concert of the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra.

Lee Jayeon, director of the Gangnam Cultural Foundation, said, “David Lee is the right person who combines high-level artistry and communicative leadership to lead the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra’s new leap forward. We expect that the meeting of the young and creative new artistic director with the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra will bring new vitality and energy to the music scene.”

The Gangnam Symphony Orchestra is celebrating its 28th anniversary this year. Since its founding artistic director Seo Hyun-seok, it has been led by artistic directors such as Sung Ki-seon (former artistic director of Jeonju City Symphony Orchestra) and Yeo Ja-kyung (former artistic director of Daejeon Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra), presenting a total of 107 regular concerts to date. Starting with the release of live performance CDs of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and 5 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 from 1998 to 2000, it was the first Korean symphony orchestra to release all nine Beethoven symphonies. In 2011, it released a complete Brahms symphony album.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.