Eun Sun Kim

Born in Seoul, Eun Sun Kim began her musical education at a young age, studying piano and violin before eventually focusing on conducting. She received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in composition and conducting from the Seoul National University and went on to study in Stuttgart, where she graduated with distinction. After completing her studies, she won first prize at the International Jesús López Cobos Opera Conducting Competition and then worked as an assistant conductor at the Teatro Real in Madrid with well-known conductors such as Jesús Lopez Cobos, Jiří Bělohlávek and Ivor Bolton.

With her talent and dedication, she is poised to become one of the leading conductors of her generation. She was hailed by the New York Times as the 2021 Breakout Star in Classical Music. Throughout her career, she has worked with many prestigious orchestras, concert halls and opera companies all around the world, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, Staatsoper Berlin, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Teatro alla Scala, and the Metropolitan Opera. Kim is a vocal advocate for equality and has made it a priority to promote the music of underrepresented composers, such as women and musicians from her native South Korea.

In 2021 she was appointed music director of the San Francisco Opera, making her the first woman to hold this position with the orchestra. Here, she already conducted, among others, the world premiere of John Adams' Antony and Cleopatra, as well as productions of Verdi's La traviata, Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites. Kim also dedicated a full evening to the musical legacy of Giuseppe Verdi in her one-night-only concert 'Eun Sun Kim Conducts Verdi' and she has reserved a spot for Verdi repertoire in every single season at San Francisco Opera. She also serves as Principal Guest Conductor of Houston Grand Opera and she is the first to hold this position in 25 years.

Last update: 13-01-2023