Conductor Tung-Chieh Chuang Will Not Extend His Contract in Bochum

Chuang will depart at the close of the 2025/26 season, having served a term of five years

The Taiwanese conductor Tung-Chieh Chuang has opted not to renew his contract as General Music Director of Germany's Bochum Symphony Orchestra. He will conclude his time there in July 2026, having served five years, and will focus more intensively on appearances as a guest conductor.

During his time with the orchestra, Chuang has developed their sound, as well as giving the premiere performances of several commissioned works. In addition, he has strengthened the orchestra's ties with Asia, undertaking a tour of Taiwan and inviting Taiwanese musicians to appear in Bochum.

During the 2023/24 season, Chuang appeared as guest conductor with the hr-Sinfonieorchester, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, and the Bremer Philharmoniker.

His career began when he won the Malko Conducting Competition in 2015, and he was also a prizewinner at the Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition in Frankfurt, the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in Bamberg and the Jeunesses Musicales International Conducting Competition in Bucharest.

Originally a horn player, Chuang studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” Weimar.

"I am sure that after five successful years I will leave full of confidence and in the knowledge that both the orchestra and the music forum are in top form and well prepared for all challenges," Chuang said. "I am already proud of everything we have achieved together."

"Mr. Chuang has worked successfully with the Bochum Symphony Orchestra over the past three years and stabilized the orchestra in the difficult post-Covid period, for which he deserves the thanks of all Bochum music lovers," said Dietmar Dieckmann, the Head of the Cultural Department.

"I am looking forward to the concert programs for the coming season that have already been announced and am excited to see what Mr. Chuang is planning for his last year with us. He will also be very welcome as a guest at the Bochum Symphony in the future."