Rising Star: How Conductor Song Min-kyu is Shaping the Future of Classical Music in Asia

“I want to build experience and become an active conductor on the world stage.”

Min-kyu Song, regarded as a rising talent among the next generation of conductors, said this in a recent interview with Seoul Economic Daily. Born in 1993 and now in his early 30s, he was selected last year as associate conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic through an audition and has been steadily broadening his career. He is gaining practical experience with the Seoul Philharmonic while also preparing for international competitions and overseas engagements.

As young Korean instrumentalists continue to make notable advances in the classical world, a new wave of conductors is emerging — and Song is part of that cohort. Unlike the more common path of beginning as an instrumentalist before switching to the podium, he started studying conducting after being captivated by the symphony orchestra.

He recalled, “I still vividly remember going with my mother in middle school to see the Asian Philharmonic conducted by Maestro Chung Myung‑whun. Hearing the first movement of Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 was a revelation — I was shocked that an orchestra could produce that sound.” He then left for Germany instead of continuing to high school, laying his foundation at the Detmold University of Music and the Berlin University of the Arts.

He has also been making strides on the international stage. In 2024 he won the Guido Cantelli International Conducting Competition, a prestigious event that has launched the careers of maestros such as Riccardo Muti and Eliahu Inbal. He went on to take second place at the Hiroshima International Conducting Competition and was named to the final shortlist for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s search for a principal deputy conductor.

His overseas debut appearances followed: a regular season concert with the Della Toscana Orchestra in Florence and a special program with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra in Japan. A performance in Kyushu is scheduled for this November. He is now preparing for the final round of the Mahler International Conducting Competition in Bamberg, Germany, in June.

He likens a conductor’s role to that of a film director. “No matter how good the script and actors are, a weak director can undermine the whole film; similarly, without a strong conductor, an orchestra can’t produce great music,” he said. “The same score can become a completely different work depending on the conductor — just as Bong Joon‑ho and Jang Hang‑jun would make different films from the same script. That’s the allure of the symphony.”

His long-term aim is to become a conductor of international stature who continues to perform abroad. “My peers and I all grew up watching Maestro Chung Myung‑whun and nurturing our dreams,” he said. “I want to develop my own depth and interpretive voice so I can bring compelling performances to audiences around the world.”