The Tongyeong International Music Foundation appointed Chin Un-suk, Berlin-based composer of contemporary classical music, as the next artistic director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival.

The contemporary music festival which honors the late-composer Yun I-sang is held annually in the coastal city of Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, every March. This year’s festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chin will lead the event from 2022 to 2026.

“I am honored to be the director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, a festival with great potential at the center of the Korean classical music scene. I am looking forward to interesting projects and continuous growth of the festival,” Chin said through the foundation.

Florian Riem, the CEO of the foundation, had been the artistic director of the festival. Riem’s term ends this year.

Chin, based in Berlin since 1988, has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the 2004 Grawemeyer Award with a violin concerto, 2005 Arnold Schonberg Prize and 2010 Prince Pierre Foundation Music Award.

Prestigious orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, and contemporary music ensembles have commissioned and presented Chin’s works.

Chin is closely connected with the local classical music secene, having been the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s composer-in-residence from 2006 to 2017.

Meanwhile, the art foundation is in the process of appointing its new CEO. It is also preparing for the 2021 Tongyeong International Music Festival under COVID-19 circumstances.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)