Korean conductor Park June-sung claimed several awards during the 12th Aram Khachaturian International Competition such as the first place for conducting and three more prizes.
Park is said to have shared his first place win with Miran Vaupotic of Croatia. Park was also given the Orchestra Award, Best Interpretation of Aram Khachaturian, and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra Special Prizes. The international competition took place in Yerevan, Armenia from June 6-14, 2016.
This is the biggest win for the 34-year-old conductor. Last year, he won the third prize at the 6th International Conducting Competition Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest.
In an interview with KPop Herald, Park said, "To be honest with you, because I felt as though I still have so many areas in which I could improve (as a conductor), I never expected to win first place." He added that receiving the Orchestra Award was the biggest honor for him, and it has made him so proud and happy. He also said that having won the awards made him feel successful in "translating my words and the music onto the orchestra members."
The Aram Khachaturian competition started in 2003 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. This is the first year that the competition included conducting among the other categories such as cello, composition, piano, and violin.
The jury for the Aram Khachaturian competition this year are renowned people in the music industry, including Mark Hildrew and Michalis Economou. Hildrew is the executive director of Askonas Holt, while Economou is the principal guest conductor of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra and is the music director of the Athens Symphony Orchestra.
Aside from his big wins, Park was awarded a $10,000 cash prize and has received an invitation to conduct two concerts linked to the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra. He will be conducting with them for the next two years. Park said that one of the biggest benefits of winning this year is the chance to conduct the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra.
Park comes from a musical family. He is the son of the Daegu Opera House's artistic director and baritone singer Park Myung-ki. He started to play the piano at the age of 4 and studied piano at the State University for Music and the Performing Arts in Stuttgart, Germany.
