Junyoung Kim

Junyoung Kim has been working as Second Kapellmeister and Assistant to the General Music Director at Theater & Orchester Heidelberg since the 2024/25 season. In his home country, South Korea, he also works regularly as an assistant conductor at the Korea National Opera, where he assisted Lothar Koenigs, Yves Abel, and Sebastian Lang-Lessing. During the production of Die tote Stadt, he took charge of and prepared the orchestral rehearsals. This year, he is additionally involved in the production of »Das Rheingold«, marking the beginning of the first complete Ring cycle in Korea’s history. Previously, he held positions as a répétiteur in Heidelberg and at Theater Osnabrück. He received significant artistic inspiration in masterclasses with Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Domaine Forget International Music and Dance Academy, Peter Eötvös (including sessions with guest professor Unsuk Chin), Cristian Măcelaru at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Jaap van Zweden, Daniel Oren, and Johannes Schlaefli. In 2023, he reached the semifinals of the Kussewitzky International Conducting Competition and conducted a CD recording featuring works by Jean-Pierre Leguay together with members of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. After completing his bachelor’s degree at Seoul National University, he pursued his master’s and concert exam studies at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart under Prof. Rasmus Baumann, supported by the Deutschlandstipendium. During his training, he collaborated with ensembles including the Orchestre Métropolitain, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, the Filharmonia Śląska, the Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, the Danubia Orchestra Óbuda, the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Les Violons du Roy, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim, and the Hamburger Camerata.