Jung-Ho Pak

Last updated
Jung-Ho Pak
BornBurlingame, California
Origin United States
GenresClassical
Occupation(s) Conductor
Musician

Jung-Ho Pak (born February 4, 1962 in Burlingame, California) is an American symphony conductor. He was Artistic Director of the San Diego Symphony and of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, of which he is now Conductor Emeritus. He was Music Director of the Diablo Ballet and the NEXT Generation Chamber Orchestra. He was the artistic director of the now-defunct Orchestra Nova San Diego. Pak has guest conducted internationally. He was the Director of the Cape Symphony, [1] and is a former musical director of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and the director of orchestras at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. In May 2023, he announced that he was stepping down as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Cape Symphony at the end of the summer. [2]

Contents

Education

Pak began studying the piano at age 6. Three years later, he was awarded a scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory and enrolled in a college music theory class. He began studying clarinet at age 11, and played in multiple bands and orchestras into college.

Career

Early in his career, Pak was a conductor and professor at several schools including the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Santa Barbara, Idyllwild Arts Academy, and Lehigh University. In 1988, he won a national conducting competition with the Young Musicians Foundation's Debut Orchestra.

In 1997, Pak was appointed music director the San Diego Symphony to lead it out of bankruptcy, which eventually became an artistic and financial success, receiving one of the largest endowment pledges in American orchestral history (over $110 million). In 1998, Pak succeeded Daniel Lewis as music director of the University of Southern California Symphony and was also named music director at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Orchestra. In 1999, he additionally became music director of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, with which he was named Music Director Emeritus in 2007.

Since 2003, Pak has been director of orchestras and music director of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, one of the largest and oldest arts camps in the country. In 2006, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra appointed Pak as artistic director and conductor; in 2009 the ensemble changed their name to Orchestra Nova San Diego to reflect their aspirations under Pak's leadership. The ensemble filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2012 due to an impasse between Pak and the Musician's Union, with Pak stating that he would prefer to choose members in his ensembles. [4] In 2007, Pak began his tenure as artistic director and conductor of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra, one of the largest orchestras in Massachusetts. In 2008, Pak was a guest conductor for the 2008 ASTA National High School Honors Orchestra. In 2015, Pak was the conductor for the 2015 NAfME All-National Honors Symphony Orchestra. In May 2023, he announced that he was stepping down as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Cape Symphony at the end of the summer.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edo de Waart</span> Dutch conductor (born 1941)

Edo de Waart is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (2010-2014), and music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Fennell</span> American conductor

Frederick Fennell was an American conductor and one of the primary figures which promoted the Eastman Wind Ensemble as a performing group. He was also influential as a band pedagogue, and greatly affected the field of music education in the US and abroad. In Fennell's New York Times obituary, colleague Jerry F. Junkin was quoted as saying "He was arguably the most famous band conductor since John Philip Sousa."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Brott</span> Canadian conductor and motivational speaker (1944–2022)

Boris Brott, was a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker. He was one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, having conducted on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall, La Scala,and Covent Garden. He was known for his innovative methods of introducing classical music to new audiences. Over his career, he commissioned, performed, and recorded a wide variety of Canadian works for orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Symphony</span> American symphony orchestra

The San Diego Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in San Diego, California. The orchestra is resident at Copley Symphony Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for the San Diego Opera.

Donald M. Kendrick is the Calgary, Alberta-born director of choral activities at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) and the director of music at Sacred Heart Church where he conducts Schola Cantorum and Vox Nova, and the founder and artistic director of the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra. He is also the founder and past artistic director of the Sacramento Children's Chorus.

James Paul is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of the Oregon Coast Music Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royston Nash</span>

Royston Hulbert Nash was an English-born conductor, best known as a music director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and, later, as the conductor of the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diane Wittry</span>

Diane Wittry is an American musical conductor and composer. Since 1995, she has served as the music director and conductor of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and, since 2018, she has been the music director and conductor of the Garden State Philharmonic (GSP) in Toms River, New Jersey.

Orchestra Nova San Diego, formerly known as the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, is a defunct chamber orchestra based in San Diego, California. It operated for 28 years, from 1984 through 2012. The founding director was Donald Barra; in 2006 Jung-Ho Pak took over as artistic director and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oleh Mahlay</span> American musician

Oleh Mahlay is an American violinist, pianist, bandurist, choral conductor and lawyer of Ukrainian ethnicity. Mahlay has made a significant contribution to Ukrainian emigre music, primarily through his work with the Ukrainian bandura and the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus. Merited Figure of Arts of Ukraine.

Daniel George Lewis was an American orchestral conductor and University Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California (USC).

Cape Symphony, located on Cape Cod, is one of the largest professional orchestras in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Mitchell</span> American conductor (born 1979)

Brett Mitchell is an American conductor, composer, and pianist. He began a three-year term as Artistic Director & Conductor of the Sunriver Music Festival in August 2022. He previously served as music director of the Colorado Symphony from 2017 to 2021, Associate Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra from 2013 to 2017, Assistant Conductor of the Orchestre National de France from 2006 to 2009, Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony from 2007 to 2011, Music Director of the Moores Opera Center in Houston from 2012 to 2013, and Music Director of the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra from 2010 to 2015.

Gustav Meier was a Swiss-born conductor and director of the Orchestra Conducting Program at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He was also Music Director of the Greater Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra in Connecticut, for more than 40 years (1972–2013).

David Hattner is an American professional clarinetist and conductor currently serving as music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic. Raised in Toledo, Ohio, Hattner attended the Interlochen Arts Camp and Arts Academy, experiences which inspired him to become a professional musician and conductor. He graduated from the Arts Academy in 1986 and enrolled in Northwestern University where he studied clarinet performance under Robert Marcellus. In 1988 he placed second in the International Clarinet Association's Young Artist Competition and was selected to join the American-Soviet Youth Orchestra. He earned a music degree with honors in 1990.

Michael Zearott, was an American conductor, composer, pianist and music educator. A First Prize, Gold Medal winner of the Dimitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition, he conducted the New York Philharmonic in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and was also invited to conduct for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Symphony, California Chamber Symphony, San Diego Symphony and others in the United States as well as Europe. Zearott was the first student to earn a Ph.D. in composition at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giancarlo Castro D'Addona</span> Musical artist

Giancarlo Castro D'Addona is a Venezuelan - Italian composer, conductor and trumpet player. Gold medal winner at the Global Music Awards in San Diego - California (US).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black conductors</span>

Black conductors are musicians of African, Caribbean, African-American ancestry and other members of the African diaspora who are musical ensemble leaders who direct classical music performances, such as an orchestral or choral concerts, or jazz ensemble big band concerts by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face and head. Conductors of African descent are rare, as the vast majority are male and Caucasian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SACRA/PROFANA</span>

SACRA/PROFANA is a California-based chamber choir founded in 2009. They are noted for their eclectic and unorthodox approach to choral repertoire, and for appearing as the onstage choir for fifty consecutive performances of The Hunchback of Notre Dame during its American premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Schwarz</span> American cellist of Austrian descent (born 1991)

Julian Schwarz is an American cellist of Austrian descent who graduated from Juilliard School. Schwarz is currently on the cello faculty of Eastern Music Festival and as of August 2017, the assistant professor of cello at Shenendoah Conservatory. He won the 2013 inaugural Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld International String Competition in Hong Kong and the 2016 Boulder International Chamber Music Competition's "The Art of Duo" with pianist Marika Bournaki, to whom he is married.

References

  1. Luongo, Ann (February 9, 2019). "FACES OF CAPE COD – Jung-Ho Pak, Conductor, Instructor, Lover of Music". Faces of Cape Cod.
  2. Cape Symphony Press Release (May 17, 2023). "CAPE SYMPHONY'S ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR JUNG-HO PAK TO STEP DOWN AT END OF SUMMER; SEARCH FOR SUCCESSOR BEGINS".
  3. "Alumni Roster". musicacademy.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  4. "Orchestra Nova Closes Its Doors". KPBS.