Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra Opens Public Recruitment for Members After 8 Years... 9 Positions in Strings and Brass

Hiring a Total of 9 Musicians Including Violin, Viola, Cello, Horn, Trumpet
Yap Pan Tsubeden Participates in Audition for Next Music Director

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra is publicly recruiting new members for the first time in 8 years.

The Seoul Philharmonic announced on the 4th that applications for the open recruitment of members will be accepted from today until the 21st of next month. This recruitment is the first public hiring of members since 2015. It is the first recruitment since the hiring system was established considering the strengthened regulations related to recruitment in the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s “Guidelines on Personnel and Organization of Local Investment and Subsidized Institutions” and the special characteristics of the institution.

From 2015 until 2019, when former music director Osmo V?nsk? was appointed, the Seoul Philharmonic was unable to hire members due to the vacancy of the music director position. After Director V?nsk?’s appointment, internal discussions about recruitment took place, but in 2017, when public institution recruitment corruption became a social issue, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s regulations were strengthened, and the recruitment did not proceed.

The strengthened regulations include ▲more than half of the recruitment screening committee members must be external members to ensure fairness ▲no overlapping appointment of screening committee members for each stage ▲strengthened standards for disqualification, avoidance, and recusal of screening committee members. Due to the difficulty of applying exceptions for the special nature of arts institutions, the Seoul Philharmonic has faced challenges in selecting members during this period.

In this recruitment, the Seoul Philharmonic will conduct the first and second practical tests in a blind format. The third practical test will be conducted in an orchestra rehearsal format to evaluate ensemble performance with existing members. The next Seoul Philharmonic music director, Yap Van Zweden, is also expected to participate in the audition and directly select new members, according to the Seoul Philharmonic.

In this public recruitment, the Seoul Philharmonic will select a total of 9 members: one each for concertmaster (1st violin), associate principal and section player of viola, principal and associate principal of cello, principal, associate principal, and section player of horn, and principal trumpet. The final successful candidates will be announced on April 21. This recruitment focuses on string and brass instrument positions, and the Seoul Philharmonic plans to continue recruiting members in the future.

Son Eunkyung, CEO of the Seoul Philharmonic, said, “There were many twists and turns before conducting the public recruitment of members for the first time in 8 years. I am truly glad that we can hire new members who will be responsible for the future of the Seoul Philharmonic. We will select performers solely based on their skills regardless of age, nationality, or educational background.”