Hyunsik
Shin

Hyunsik Shin is a South Korean conductor and has served as Chief Conductor of the Akademisches Orchester Freiburg since the 2026/27 season. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Nürnberger Symphoniker and the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra in Bucharest. He also led a repertoire project with the KNSO Academy Orchestra in Seoul. In March 2027, he will make his debut with the Szeged Symphony Orchestra in Hungary.

His wide-ranging repertoire extends from Mozart through the great symphonic works of the Romantic era to contemporary music, including works by Charlotte Seither. Moving naturally between different musical periods and styles, he combines a passion for the traditional orchestral repertoire with a particular interest in the music of our time.

Hyunsik Shin has gained international recognition through several successes at conducting competitions. In 2025, he won First Prize at the 4th International Conducting Competition “Orchestra’s Conductor” in Bucharest and Second Prize at the International Ferenc Fricsay Conducting Competition in Szeged. That same year, he reached the semifinals of the German conducting competition “Campus Dirigieren” and received the “Outstanding Conductor” award at the Korean National Symphony Orchestra Conducting Workshop led by Christoph Poppen.

In addition to his guest conducting engagements, he has worked with orchestras in Germany and abroad, including the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, the Nationaltheater Orchestra Mannheim, the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester, and the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Hyunsik Shin is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts, studying with Prof. Stefan Blunier and Prof. Cornelius Meister, having previously completed his Bachelor’s degree there. Before moving to Germany, he studied orchestral conducting with Prof. Heechun Choi at Hanyang University in Seoul. He has also gained further artistic inspiration through masterclasses with Christoph Poppen and Martin Sieghart.