Jaehyuck Choi | Born 1994, Seoul | Composer, Conductor, Artistic Director of ensemble blank Jaehyuck Choi is a composer and conductor who believes that music is a true form of magic. He first gained international attention by winning First Prize as the youngest laureate in the history of the Geneva International Music Competition’s composition category in 2017. He later made a dramatic debut as a conductor at the Lucerne Festival, sharing the podium with Sir Simon Rattle to lead the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Gruppen by Stockhausen.
Choi studied composition and conducting with Unsuk Chin, Matthias Pintscher, Jörg Widmann, Paavo Järvi, and Peter Eötvös. He is the founder and artistic director of Ensemble Blank, a collective known for its innovative programming and interdisciplinary collaborations.
As a composer, his works are published by Universal Edition Vienna, and have been commissioned and premiered by the Menuhin International Violin Competition, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Columbus Chamber Music Festival, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and the Festival du Périgord Noir, among others.
As a conductor, he has led leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Seoul Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Trondheim Symphony, Verbier Festival Orchestra, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Sofia Philharmonic, Bucharest Symphony, Daejeon Philharmonic, Bucheon Philharmonic, Jeju Philharmonic, and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, etc., performing across Europe and Asia.
The ensemble he founded in 2016, ensemble blank, has performed on numerous stages both in Korea and abroad. In 2024, they were officially invited to BBC Proms Korea, further affirming his artistic leadership. In 2025, the group launched a new project that integrated electronic music, lighting design, video art, and visual media—offering a bold vision for the future of interdisciplinary performance.
Beyond music, Choi enjoys traveling and exploring food cultures. He recalls sharing a post-concert beer and laughter with Simon Rattle as “one of the best moments of his life.” Blending humor with insight, he continues to push artistic boundaries across Seoul, Berlin, and New York. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School, Barenboim-Said Akademie, and Mannes School of Music.
