Holly Hyun Choe ’18 MM Named Music Director of the Orchestre National de Cannes

The Orchestre National de Cannes has announced the appointment of conductor Holly Hyun Choe ’18 MM as its next Music Director, beginning with the 2026–2027 season. Her initial contract will span four seasons.

Currently an associate artist with the Orchestre de chambre de Genève and principal conductor of the German ensemble Reflektor, Choe will also assume the role of Music Director of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra in January 2026. She was a Dudamel Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic during the 2024-2025 season, making her debut with the orchestra in May 2025. Her growing international acclaim was further recognized with the 2025 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, supported by the Solti Foundation U.S.

Since her first collaboration with the Orchestre National de Cannes in June 2024, Choe has developed what the orchestra describes as a “special connection” with both the ensemble and its audiences. She will return to Cannes on March 22, 2026, to conduct a program featuring Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto with soloist Luka Coetzee at the Théâtre Debussy, Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, ahead of unveiling her inaugural season later that spring.

Choe’s appointment marks a significant moment for gender representation in French orchestras. Until 2020, Debora Waldman (Music Director of the Orchestre National Avignon-Provence) was the only woman leading a permanent orchestra in France. At that time, only 6.2% of the world’s 778 professional symphonic orchestras were led by women, and just 4% in France. Today, both Avignon and Cannes stand among the country’s 15 officially recognized Orchestres Nationaux en région, and remain the only two such orchestras in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region.

We applaud you, Holly!