Yoonhak Baek, Conductor

Yoonhak Baek, recently promoted to Chorus Master for OperaDelaware's production of The Merry Widow, is busy as both conductor and opera coach. As an opera conductor and coach, he has been strongly involved with OperaDelaware since 2009. He was an assistant conductor for several productions of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Tosca and La Traviata. Besides main productions, included also are productions of OperaDelaware Youth Program and Outreach concerts. In summer 2009, he was an assistant conductor of Michael Ching, former artistic director of Memphis Opera, on Lucia di Lammermoore at Opera New Jersey in Princeton, NJ. While studying at Curtis, he organized and conducted a concert version of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. Yoonhak led the concert version of Alcina by G.F. Handel and worked with several conductors at Curtis Opera Theater as well. As an opera coach, he has been pianist of Poor Richard Opera Company since the company's first production of Le Nozze di Figaro. He was the rehearsal pianist at Temple University for the productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Boheme, Le Rossignol, L'enfant et les Sortileges and Medium, among others.

As an orchestral conductor, Yoonhak was invited to Seoul Philharmonic to conduct Peter and the Wolf for the run-out concert in 2008. In 2009, he guest conducted the Young Artists Concert with the Buchen Philharmonic. Recommended by world renowned composer Unsuk Chin, he was the staff conductor of TIMF, Tongyoung International Music Festival ensemble in Bangkok, Thailand in 2008. Also recommended by Dr. Higdon, he was one of the young conductors who participated in New Music Festival in Winnipeg, Canada in 2007. He guest-conducted Suwon Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic and Sofia Festival Orchestra, among others. He has been music director or Gloria Youth Orchestra in Cherry Hill, NJ since 2009. He founded the string ensemble "The Modern" while at Seoul National University and was music director of Seoul National University Philharmonic Orchestra and Seoul National University Mixed Voice Choir.

Yoonhak Baek graduated from Temple University '09, with a MM in piano accompanying and opera coaching, under the tutelage of the late John Douglas and from The Curtis Institute of Music '06, with Artist Diploma in Orchestral Conducting, under renowned conducting teacher Otto-Werner Mueller. He holds a bachelor degree of Electrical Engineering from Seoul National University.