The Solti Foundation U.S. marks 25th anniversary; names 2025 Solti Fellow

Evanston, IL – Celebrating 25 years, The Solti Foundation U.S. Board Chair Penny Van Horn and Artistic and Awards Committee Chair Elizabeth Buccheri today announced the 2025 recipient of the Foundation's current major grant, The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Since 2004, 20 young American conductors have received prestigious top awards from the Foundation.

In 2006, in recognition of the exceptional quality of the applicants for The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award (also known as the Solti Fellow), The Solti Foundation U.S. introduced its first Career Assistance Award, which is awarded to selected musicians that applied that season. To date, 166 Career Assistance Awards have been distributed.

Introduced in 2014, The Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency Program (officially named in 2018) is the Foundation’s other program for which one cannot apply but rather are selected. Since its establishment, 25 awardees have participated in residencies with major opera companies throughout the United States.

Mrs. Van Horn stated, “This year, 2025, we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of The Solti Foundation U.S. This marks a quarter century of our unwavering commitment to exceptional young American conductors as they embark on their professional careers. We do this in honor of the legendary conductor, Sir Georg Solti. The Maestro firmly believed that the aid he received while a young man enabled him to achieve his future success. Sir Georg provided mentorship and assistance to aspiring musicians throughout his life.

“Since our founding by Lady Valerie Solti and their two daughters and with the enthusiastic support of the Solti family, we have continued his legacy. Over the course of our 25 years, Solti Foundation U.S. grant recipients have appeared as guest conductors and held positions with distinguished orchestras, festivals, and opera houses worldwide.

“When the concept of a Foundation came to fruition, our Board had no idea we would be celebrating such a momentous anniversary all these years later. This is confirmation of the importance of symphonic and operatic music and a tribute not only to Sir Georg’s memory but to the talented musicians of today. Our grant awards and opera residencies help to foster professional careers providing much needed support at a pivotal juncture in their young careers.

“And so, in this special milestone year, The Solti Foundation U.S. is proud to announce Holly Hyun Choe, newly named Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor of Norwegian Radio Orchestra beginning in 2026, Principal Conductor of chamber orchestra Ensemble Reflektor, and Associate Artist of the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève as the 16th recipient of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. 

“A fine example of Sir Georg Solti’s get-up-and-go spirit, a true self-starter and innovative personality on stage and off, we have watched Ms. Choe’s musical growth since 2020, when we first selected her with a Career Assistance Award. I am pleased, on behalf of the Foundation, to congratulate Holly.”

Holly Hyun Choe, conductor; Photo credit: Emily Turkanik

Said Maestra Choe, “It is with a heart full of gratitude and humility that I receive the next Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award. Accepting this award is truly life-changing, not just for the recognition, but as a promise to myself to continue striving towards an utmost dedication to the arts, following in the footsteps of Sir Georg Solti, whose life’s work was deeply rooted in reaching the highest level of music-making and profundity in the power of music.

“Since receiving a Career Assistance Award in 2020 and now this prestigious award, I strive to contribute to the tapestry of the art world, to be a role model, and to further develop my impact in our society and culture through music that encompasses the tradition of innovation, the inter-, and trans-disciplinary across art forms, and actively work to close the gap in privilege, diversity, and socioeconomics. 

“I extend my most sincere thanks to The Solti Foundation U.S. for following my growth in the last several years and for believing in my potential and talent.”

"Holly is an inspiring musician," Ms. Buccheri stated. "A natural born artist, Holly was a clarinetist until the age of 19. She is passionate, driven, and absolutely committed to music and a career in conducting, as her growing career demonstrates. She has carved out a career internationally and in the United States, and we cannot wait to see where her goals take her. Congratulations!

“Holly is also the third woman conductor to receive the Solti Fellow,” continued Ms. Buccheri. “As a Foundation which awards grants based on talent and not via competition, we can only consider conductors who apply. We hope that Holly’s well-deserved success spurs more women conductors to apply for The Solti Conducting Fellow Award in the future.”

The Sir Georg Solti Fellow, as the grant is also known, is awarded annually to a single, promising American conductor 36 years of age or younger. One of the largest of its kind, it provides essential career guidance, industry connections and a cash purse of $30,000 to aid grant recipients as they further hone the skills of their craft. Previous recipients include François López-Ferrer, Keitaro Harada, Earl Lee, Gemma New, Aram Demirjian, Yaniv Dinur, Roderick Cox, Christopher Allen, Karina Canellakis, Vladimir Kulenovic, Cristian Macelaru, James Feddeck, Case Scaglione, Eric Nielsen, and Anthony Barrese.

Recipients of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award may use the financial portion of the grant in various ways to specifically advance his/her career, whether it be further studies, language study, purchases of scores, or travel. The Foundation's Board of Directors comprises experts from all areas of the classical music industry, and therefore the Award also brings door-opening introductions within the industry and valuable access to professional mentors.

About Holly Hyun Choe
Recently named the Principal Conductor and Musical Advisor of Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Korean American conductor Holly Hyun Choe will succeed Petr Popelka and step into the role at the beginning of 2026. Currently in her third season as Principal Conductor of the chamber orchestra Ensemble Reflektor, which views itself as an ambassador for a musical culture without borders, the sought-after guest conductor also serves as Artiste Associate with the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève.

Upcoming engagements include the Orchestre de Paris on April 30, 2025. On May 9, she makes her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic where she is currently a Dudamel Fellow. Earlier this month, Choe led Orchestre de Chambre de Genève in concert and in Gerald Barry's opera Alice's Adventures Under Ground at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.

Amongst the orchestras with which she has guested are the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Komischer Oper Berlin, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra.”

Former posts include assistant conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under the direction of Paavo Järvi, for the 2020 -21-and 2021-22 seasons. Ms. Choe holds a Master of Music in Wind Ensemble Conducting from New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) where she studied with Professor Charles Peltz, and two Masters degrees: Specialized Masters & Master of Arts in Performance | Orchestral Conducting with Professor Johannes Schlaefli from Zürich University of the Arts (ZHdK).

Maestra Choe’s official full bio is available in the Dropbox link below.

About The Solti Foundation U.S. 

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, The Solti Foundation U.S. is the foremost organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to helping young conductors. It is the first organization to have created an award in the legendary conductor's honor.

Established in 2000, the Foundation honors the memory of the legendary conductor Sir Georg Solti by lending significant support to career-ready young American musicians. In 2004, the Foundation concentrated the focus of its award program to solely assist talented young American conductors early in their professional careers (its original mission was of a more general arts nature). Since then, it has awarded over 1.5 million dollars through grants and residencies to American conductors.

The Foundation endeavors to seek out those musicians who have chosen to follow a path similar to that followed by Sir Georg himself. In keeping with the spirit of Sir Georg's active approach to his career, young conductors must apply to be considered for the awards.

While dedicated to identifying and assisting young conductors early on, the Foundation is also concerned with the long-term development of its award recipients. It continues to offer support, and maintains a constant interest in their growth and achievements.

The Foundation currently awards the following grants annually:

The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award 
The prestigious $30,000 grant is given annually to a single promising American conductor 36 years of age or younger. It is the largest grant currently given to American conductors in the formative years of their careers. The Award, also known as The Solti Fellow, includes door-opening introductions, ongoing professional mentoring, and introductions to two of Chicago's most prestigious performing organizations: Lyric Opera of Chicago and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award 
The amount of and the number of the Career Assistance Awards given each year varies. The 2025 awardees will be announced in the near future.

The Elizabeth Buccheri Opera Residency 
Introduced in 2014, the program places former award recipients with a distinguished opera house for one-on-one mentoring and coaching of an opera during the company's professional season. Over 20 residencies have been awarded, and recipients have worked with numerous stellar opera companies renowned for their artistic excellence across the country. Companies include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Florentine Opera Company in Milwaukee, North Carolina Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Southwest and Dayton Opera. Conductors cannot apply but are instead selected by the Artistic and Awards Committee. The 2025 residency was awarded to Andrew J. Kim at Dayton Opera. 

The Solti Foundation U.S. is the only American Foundation to grant these kinds of awards each year to young American conductors. Citizens or permanent residents of the United States, 36 years of age or younger, who are career-ready artists in the field of conducting are eligible to apply. Applicants for all Solti Foundation U.S. awards must be able to demonstrate a developing career as a symphonic/operatic conductor. All applications from The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award are considered for a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. Applications are reviewed by an awards committee comprised of a panel of professionals with broad musical and conducting experience. The Foundation reserves the right to withhold a grant in any given year if the Artistic & Awards Committee does not find suitable applicants in one or more of the various award categories.

For further details on The Solti Foundation U.S., its past awardees, their biographical information, guidelines for the upcoming 2026 Awards the annual fundraiser and newsletter, as well as a downloadable application form, please visit the Foundation's website at: www.soltifoundation.us.

Click here for official full biography, photos, and pdf of release.

Press Contact for The Solti Foundation U.S.
Laura Grant, Grant Communications
917.359.7319; Laura@grant-communications.com