Radu Paponiu was appointed Wattis Foundation Music Director of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra in fall 2024, and recently extended his contract through the 2028–29 season. He was previously associate conductor of the Naples (Florida) Philharmonic and music director of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He has also served as music director of the Southwest Florida Symphony, assistant conductor of the Naples Philharmonic, and as a member of the conducting faculty of the Juilliard Pre-College.

As a guest conductor, Paponiu has appeared with the Romanian National Radio Symphony, Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra, Transylvania State Philharmonic, Rockford Symphony, Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, California Young Artists Symphony, and National Repertory Orchestra. He has collaborated with soloists such as Evgeny Kissin, Yefim Bronfman, Emanuel Ax, Gil Shaham, Midori, Vladmir Feltsman, Robert Levin, Charles Yang, Nancy Zhou, Stella Chen, and the Ébène Quartet.

Born in Romania, Paponiu began his musical studies on the violin at age seven, came to the United States at the invitation of the Perlman Music Program, and later completed two degrees in violin performance at the Colburn School. He went on to earn a master’s degree in orchestral conducting at New England Conservatory, where he studied with Hugh Wolff.

Hannah Cho has appeared with Pocket Opera, Opera Naples, Korean National Opera, Daejon Opera, and Livermore Valley Opera. She was a 2024 participant in the Merola Opera Program, and has won first prizes at the Beijing International Opera Competition, Korea National Opera Competition, Seil Korean Art Song Competition, and the German Lieder Association Competition. She has been recognized at the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition and KBS Competition, and received grants from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Goldsmith Foundation, and the Michael Sisca Opera Award.

This season, Cho debuted as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly at Pocket Opera and makes her debut at the San Francisco Symphony with this performance. She sang the role of Josephine Young in Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier, the recording of which was Grammy Award-nominated for Best Opera Recording.