Alumni Spotlight: Holly Hyun Choe ’17 MM
Holly Hyun Choe, born in South Korea and raised in Los Angeles, impresses with her presence and radiance on the podium. The Recipient of the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award 2025 and designated Principal Conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, she remains a highly sought-after guest conductor in both the United States and Europe.
After serving two years as assistant conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the direction of Paavo Järvi, she is now residing in Germany. The 2024/25 season is her third one as Principal Conductor of the chamber orchestra, Ensemble Reflektor, which sees itself as an ambassador for a musical culture without borders. She is also associated with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève as Artiste associé, and she recently conducted the orchestra both in concert and in Gerald Barry's opera Alice's Adventures Under Ground at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in April 2025. A significant debut in her hometown stands out among her engagements in the current season: recently in May 2025, Holly Hyun Choe conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time. As part of the current Dudamel Fellowship, she will also work alongside Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Xian Zhang, Ludovic Merlot, Philippe Jordan, and more. Additionally, she will return to the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and the Kammerakademie Potsdam, with which she will also perform in Munich and Essen. In recent seasons, she has among others been a guest with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra.
As part of her commitment to promoting female composers, Holly Hyun Choe regularly programs works by Ethel Smyth, Clarice Assad, Grażyna Bacewicz, Lili Boulanger, Britta Byström, Louise Farrenc, Fanny Hensel, Jennifer Higdon, Jessie Montgomery, Emilie Mayer, Caroline Shaw, Dobrinka Tabakova, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Galina Ustvolskaya.
Holly Hyun Choe completed her studies with Prof. Johannes Schlaefli at the Zurich University of the Arts in 2023. Her musical journey began self-taught: she learned to play the clarinet at the age of 13 and only received her first private music lessons at the age of 19. In 2015, she completed a master’s degree with Prof. Charles Peltz at the New England Conservatory. She has participated in master classes with Bernhard Haitink, Jorma Panula, Fabio Luisi (Concertgebouw Orkest), Peter Eötvös, Sylvia Caduff, and Jaap van Zweden, and has assisted Esa-Pekka Salonen (Orchestre de Paris), Leonard Slatkin (Orchestre National de Lyon), Simone Young (Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne/Zurich Opera), François-Xavier Roth, and Karina Canellakis (Gürzenich-Orchester Cologne).
In 2018, she was selected for the German Music Council's Forum Dirigieren; she has also been supported by a Career Assistance Award from the Solti Foundation U.S., a scholarship from the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, and as a participant in the Peter Eötvös Foundation Mentoring Programme.
Why did you choose NEC?
It was a dream school for me for many years. The high level of musicians, the beautiful city of Boston, the incredible professors and teachings of NEC drew me to apply.
What have you been up to since graduating from NEC? What projects have you been working on? Do you have any goals you are looking to accomplish?
After serving two years as assistant conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the direction of Paavo Järvi, I am now residing in Germany. The 2024/25 season is my third one as Principal Conductor of the chamber orchestra, Ensemble Reflektor, which sees itself as an ambassador for a musical culture without borders. I am also associated with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève as Artiste associé, and I recently conducted the orchestra both in concert and in Gerald Barry's opera Alice's Adventures Under Ground at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in April 2025. A significant debut in my hometown stands out among my engagements in the current season: recently in May 2025, I conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the first time. As part of the current Dudamel Fellowship, I will also work alongside Gustavo Dudamel, Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Xian Zhang, Ludovic Merlot, Philippe Jordan, and more. Additionally, I will return to the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre de Paris, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, and the Kammerakademie Potsdam, with which I will also perform in Munich and Essen. In recent seasons, I have among others been a guest with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra.
What are some of your favorite memories from your time at NEC?
My first week at NEC was very memorable. I made friendships that I still have to this day and
also attended the Mahler 5th Symphony Concert, which blew me away. I remember walking through the hallways of the practice rooms and being incredibly inspired to realize that I was now in a place with such high level musicians as colleagues.
Share a story about one of your favorite faculty or studio instructors.
Margie Apfelbaum was my boss for three semesters while I worked as the Student Orchestra
Manager. She was the best boss I could have ever worked for. She felt like a family member who genuinely cared for my well-being, and made the job so much fun. We still keep in touch and she often sends me such warm support for my career. I also fondly remember Sally Millar and her famous cookies, who also worked on the same floor. We greeted each other every single day and she lifted up everyone’s mood.
How have your NEC experiences shaped your artistic approach?
It shaped my ears tremendously thanks to the wonderful colleagues and soloists who come out of NEC. I attended more rehearsals than anyone on campus because of my Student Orchestra Manager job and working for Mr. Charles Peltz ’85 MM in the Wind Ensemble department. I definitely benefited from these rehearsals and learned a lot of repertoire this way.
Share any other stories about what has inspired you at NEC and beyond.
My professor, Charles Peltz ’85 MM, was a tiger teacher. He was a perfectionist and a great source of inspiration and wisdom. I owe him so much for my foundation as a conductor. I knew so little when I started at NEC, but thanks to him, my 3 semesters of learning under him was life-changing.
Do you have any advice for young musicians/current NEC students?
Find a mentor in your life, someone who has walked the road you wish to walk for many decades ahead of you. Learning to hone your ambition while keeping things in a much wider perspective.
Learn More About Holly:
Current Job: Principal Conductor of Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Ensemble Reflektor, Artiste Associé L‘Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Dudamel Fellow, Solti Foundation US Fellow
Major: Wind Ensemble Conducting
Degree: Master of Music
Class Year: 2017
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