conductor

Han-Na Chang

The South Korean conductor Han-Na Chang began studying the cello at an early age. When she was ten, her family moved to New York in order for her to develop her talent at the Juilliard School.

She won the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris at the age of eleven, a stunning start to her sweeping international career as a cellist. Han-Na Chang has made a series of award-winning recordings and has appeared as soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

And yet the podium and baton beckoned her. As a teenager studying philosophy at Harvard, she was invited by James DePreist, director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at Juilliard, who became her mentor.

Today Han-Na Chang focuses entirely on her career as a conductor. She has served as artistic leader and chief conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Opera since 2017 and as principal guest conductor of the Symphoniker Hamburg since 2022. She has appeared as a guest conductor with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the WDR Sinfonieorchester, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2014.

Han-Na Chang is making her Concertgebouw Orchestra debut in the 2024–25 season, an engagement originally scheduled in 2020 which could not proceed owing to coronavirus restrictions. 

image: Ole Wuttudal

The South Korean conductor Han-Na Chang began studying the cello at an early age. When she was ten, her family moved to New York in order for her to develop her talent at the Juilliard School.

She won the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris at the age of eleven, a stunning start to her sweeping international career as a cellist. Han-Na Chang has made a series of award-winning recordings and has appeared as soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

And yet the podium and baton beckoned her. As a teenager studying philosophy at Harvard, she was invited by James DePreist, director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at Juilliard, who became her mentor.

Today Han-Na Chang focuses entirely on her career as a conductor. She has served as artistic leader and chief conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Opera since 2017 and as principal guest conductor of the Symphoniker Hamburg since 2022. She has appeared as a guest conductor with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the WDR Sinfonieorchester, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2014.

Han-Na Chang is making her Concertgebouw Orchestra debut in the 2024–25 season, an engagement originally scheduled in 2020 which could not proceed owing to coronavirus restrictions. 

The South Korean conductor Han-Na Chang began studying the cello at an early age. When she was ten, her family moved to New York in order for her to develop her talent at the Juilliard School.

She won the Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris at the age of eleven, a stunning start to her sweeping international career as a cellist. Han-Na Chang has made a series of award-winning recordings and has appeared as soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestras of Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago.

And yet the podium and baton beckoned her. As a teenager studying philosophy at Harvard, she was invited by James DePreist, director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at Juilliard, who became her mentor.

Today Han-Na Chang focuses entirely on her career as a conductor. She has served as artistic leader and chief conductor of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Opera since 2017 and as principal guest conductor of the Symphoniker Hamburg since 2022. She has appeared as a guest conductor with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the WDR Sinfonieorchester, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2014.

Han-Na Chang is making her Concertgebouw Orchestra debut in the 2024–25 season, an engagement originally scheduled in 2020 which could not proceed owing to coronavirus restrictions. 

image: Ole Wuttudal
image: Ole Wuttudal