Last year, Shi-Yeon Sung became the first woman to be named assistant conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Working under the renowned James Levine, the 32-year-old South Korean is making the most of her two-year opportunity to work with some of the world’s best musicians and conductors.

In 2006, Sung won the prestigious Sir Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition in Frankfurt, Germany – the first woman to ever take home the top prize. She was given €15,000 in prize money and concerts with the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony.