Dima Slobodeniouk served as music director of Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia from 2013–22 and as principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony and artistic director of the Sibelius Festival from 2016–21. Together with Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, he built an extensive and highly acclaimed media library of live concert recordings.

This season, Dima Slobodeniouk appears with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, Boston Symphony at Tanglewood and Symphony Hall, Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Festival, and he debuts with the St. Louis Symphony. In Europe, he leads the WDR Symphony, Dresden Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Antwerp Symphony, and Vienna Symphony. In recent seasons, he has also collaborated with the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and NHK Symphony. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in January 2020 and will return in March 2027 for a program of works by Jean Sibelius, Einojuhani Rautavaara, and Gabriella Smith.

Slobodeniouk’s recordings include Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Cello Concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and soloist Nicolas Altsaedt and works by Stravinsky with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia for BIS. Other recordings include works by Kalevi Aho with the Lahti Symphony, which won a 2018 BBC Music Magazine Award.

A passionate believer in widening opportunity, Slobodeniouk launched a conducting initiative during his tenure at Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, giving aspiring conductors podium time with a professional orchestra and the opportunity to work with him on selected repertoire. Slobodeniouk studied violin at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, where he also took up conducting studies with Leif Segerstam, Jorma Panula, and Atso Almila.
 

Yubeen Kim joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Flute in January 2024 and holds the Caroline H. Hume Chair. He was previously principal flute of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra and has frequently played as guest principal flute with the Berlin Philharmonic. He is also a professor of flute at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians. He made his San Francisco Symphony concerto debut in Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 last November, and makes his solo debut with the full orchestra on this week’s program.

Kim won first prizes at the ARD International Music Competition and Prague Spring International Music Competition, as well as second prize at the Concours de Genève when no first prize was awarded. As a soloist, he has been invited to perform at numerous concerts and festivals, including the Prague Spring Festival, Nimus Festival, LA Philharmonic’s Green Umbrella New Music Series, Bemus Festival, Festival du Jura, Weiwuying International Music Festival, and Tongyeong International Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Bochumer Symphony, Turku Philharmonic, and Zagreb Philharmonic. He also performs regularly in Korea with the Seoul Philharmonic, KBS Symphony, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Korean National Symphony, Bucheon Philharmonic, Daejeon Philharmonic, Chungnam Philharmonic, Cheongju Philharmonic, and Ensemble of Tokyo.

Originally from South Korea, Kim started taking piano and violin lessons at age six before switching to the flute at nine years old. He studied at the Lyon Conservatory and Paris Conservatory, and graduated from the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with a concert exam degree.

Learn more about Yubeen Kim here.