Han-Na Chang
Han-Na Chang is the Artistic Leader and Chief Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester in Norway. Having concluded their second hugely successful season, the Orchestra and Chang embark on a very exciting third year together. Among this season's highlights are the continuation of their Mahler Cycle, with symphonies Nos. 6 and 9, a mid-season focus on 20th Century Russian Music culminating in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Shostakovich Symphony No.10, as well as the Orchestra's debut tour to South Korea, Chang's native country, where they will perform in Seoul and other major venues across the country. Alongside these musical highlights, the Orchestra and Chang are committed partners of Talent Trondheim and their recently launched education project “The Chamber Music School” – a talent development and mentoring programme individually tailored to young musicians aged 15-30.
Elsewhere in the 2019/20 season, Han-Na Chang will guest conduct Orchestre National de Lyon, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Lille, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montreal and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor, she has worked with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Bamberger Symphoniker, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, the Cincinnati, St Louis, Indianapolis, Seattle, Sarasota, Naples, Gothenburg, Singapore, Tokyo and Toronto Symphony orchestras, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra del Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, amongst others.
Han-Na Chang made an acclaimed conducting debut at the BBC Proms in September 2014. She served as the Principal Guest Conductor of the Trondheim Symfoniorkester from 2013 prior to assuming the position of the Artistic Leader and Chief Conductor in 2017. In addition, she founded and served as the Artistic Director of the Absolute Classic Festival in South Korea from 2009-2014, working intensely with the annually created Festival Orchestra every summer.
Her professional music career started at the age of 11, when she won the Grand Prix First Prize and the Contemporary Music Prize at the Fifth Rostropovich International Cello Competition in Paris in 1994. Chang went on to perform with all the major orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Münchner Philharmoniker, Philadelphia Orchestra, l'Orchestre de Paris, Filarmonica della Scala, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago, Boston and San Francisco Symphony orchestras. Her cello recordings, exclusively for the former EMI Classics (now Warner Classics), have received ECHO Klassik, Caecilia and Cannes Classical awards, as well as a Gramophone Concerto of the Year accolade among others, and remain world- wide bestsellers.
Han-Na Chang was born in South Korea. Her family moved to New York, USA when she was 10 years old and she has lived there since. She counts Mischa Maisky, Mstislav Rostropovich and Giuseppe Sinopoli as the most influential mentors during her formative years. She studied Philosophy at Harvard University.