Over the course of a career spanning 45 years, Sir Donald Runnicles has built his reputation on enduring relationships with major symphonic and operatic institutions. Focusing on depth over breadth, he has held chief artistic leadership positions at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (since 2009), Grand Teton Music Festival (since 2005), San Francisco Opera (1992–2008), BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (2009–2016), and Orchestra of St. Luke’s (2001–2007). Sir Donald was also Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for more than two decades (2001–2023), and he is the first ever Principal Guest Conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (since 2019). In February 2024, Runnicles was appointed as Chief Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic, which will begin with the 2025/26 season.

Known as a consummate Wagnerian and conductor of German Romantic repertoire, Runnicles leads Deutsche Oper Berlin this season in a new production of the Richard Strauss rarity, Intermezzo, directed by Tobias Kratzer, as well as revival performances of Parsifal and two full cycles of Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen. At the Metropolitan Opera, he conducted eight performances of the Otto Schenk production of Tannhäuser. Other 2023/24 appearances include the Dresden Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, and Utah Symphony, where he led the world premiere of a new concerto written and performed by Sir Stephen Hough.

Runnicles spends his summers at the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, Wyoming. This eight-week festival of symphonic and chamber music, five of which are programmed, planned, and conducted by Runnicles as music director, takes place amid the breathtaking beauty of Grand Teton National Park. Summer 2024 GTMF festival highlights included a semi-staged The Magic Flute, concerts with Augustin Hadelich and Yo-Yo Ma, and two fifth symphonies by Mahler and Vaughan Williams.

Runnicles’ 2024/25 season opens with a 70th birthday celebratory concert closing the Edinburgh Festival with Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony, after which he opens the Dresden Philharmonic season and then continues to Berlin for a concert with the Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchester as part of the Berlin Festival. Runnicles’ 2024/25 Deutsche Oper Berlin season includes a new production of Richard Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten and revivals of the Zemlinsky one-act opera Der Zwerg (The Dwarf), Arabella, Intermezzo, Tristan und Isolde, and Verdi’s Don Carlo. He returns twice to Sydney Symphony over the course of the season and makes guest appearances in Chicago, Houston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cincinnati.

Runnicles tours regularly with Deutsche Oper Berlin to destinations such as the Edinburgh International Festival, the London Proms, Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, and Dubai. He has joined the Philadelphia Orchestra on tours to China, summer residencies at Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Colorado, and annual subscription concerts. A frequent guest conductor with the Chicago Symphony, Runnicles’ performance history dates back to 1997. Over a decade-long relationship with the Vienna State Opera, he led new productions of Parsifal, Britten’s Billy Budd, and Peter Grimes, as well as core repertoire pieces.

Runnicles’ extensive discography includes recordings of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Britten’s Billy Budd, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and Aribert Reimann’s L’invisible. His recording of Wagner arias with Jonas Kaufmann and the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin won the 2013 Gramophone Award for Best Vocal Recording, and his recording of Janáček’s Jenůfa with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin was nominated for a 2016 GRAMMY award for Best Opera Recording.

Sir Donald Runnicles was born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was appointed OBE in 2004, and was made a Knight Bachelor in 2020. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

‘This violinist is ready for anything: with virtuosity, presence, clarity and a warm, rich tone, Bomsori is adept at making each moment her own.’Crescendo Magazine 

Highlights of Bomsori's 2024/25 season include opening with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Santtu-Matias Rouvali, debuting with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Fabio Luisi and touring with the Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hrůša in Germany and Asia. She will also debut with the RSB Orchestra Berlin, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and at Wigmore Hall, as well as return to the Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra and Ryan Bancroft, and to Hong Kong with Paavo Järvi. 

Recent highlights include her debuts at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic and at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. She toured with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich and Paavo Järvi and debuted with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Pittsburgh Symphony and Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España. She also performed with the Vienna Symphony at the Vienna Konzerthaus and made her Concertgebouw debut with the Residentie Orkest. 

Bomsori is a regular guest at renowned festivals like the Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Verbier Festival. In 2021, she became the Focus Artist of the Rheingau Musik Festival and began a five-year residency at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival as Menuhin's Heritage Artist. 

She has worked with leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Esteemed conductors she has collaborated with include Fabio Luisi, Paavo Järvi, Marin Alsop and Jaap van Zweden. 

Bomsori has performed at prestigious venues such as Vienna’s Musikverein, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall in New York. 

She is a prizewinner of the ARD International Music Competition, Tchaikovsky International Competition, Queen Elisabeth Competition and the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. She has received awards including the Young Artist Award from the Korean Ministry of Culture. 

Her discography with Deutsche Grammophon includes Violin on Stage with the NFM Wroclaw Philharmonic and a duo album with Rafał Blechacz featuring works by Fauré, Debussy, Szymanowski and Chopin, which won the Fryderyk Music Award for “Best Polish Album Abroad.” Her latest recording of the Nielsen Violin Concerto with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi won the 2024 BBC Music Magazine Award.

Born in South Korea, Bomsori studied at Seoul National University with Young Uck Kim and at The Juilliard School with Sylvia Rosenberg and Ronald Copes. She performs on the 1725 Guarnerius del Gesù violin “ex-Moller,” generously loaned by The Samsung Foundation of Culture and The Stradivari Society of Chicago.