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Biography

Unai Urrecho Zubillaga is valued for his artistic commitment and the human devotion he dedicates to each concert and opera.  “Unai Urrecho’s portrayal of Dvorak was to be framed. He is an elegant and precise maestro, a conductor who knows and conceives the sound and who knows very well what he wants to extract from the orchestra, which worked dedicated and aware of being in very good hands. Dvorak took flight and opened up everything that this great music could have of extraordinary” – El Mundo Clásico (2021) “Unai Urrecho, in a meticulously prepared version of great musical intelligence, knew how to get the best out of the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, moving it away from the role of mere accompanist to lead its members with elegance and subtlety, but also power and verve -always respecting the work of the singers in La Tabernera del Puerto of the Quincena Musical”  Ópera Actual (2022).

Unai Urrecho Zubillaga has seamlessly cultivated a thriving career as a conductor of symphonic concerts and operas, leaving an indelible mark on both Asian and European stages. Concurrently, he skillfully balances his role as a conductor with his position as a professor of conducting at Suwon University.

Before embarking on a conducting career, Maestro Urrecho developed an extensive career as an orchestra musician. During this period, he has worked with renowned orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, among many others, where he has worked under the baton of maestros such as Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, James Conlon, Sir Colin Davis, Gilbert Varga, Juanjo Mena and Hans Graff, among others.

He began his musical studies at a very early age at the academy of his hometown, playing in the Arrasate Musical Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Juan Arzamendi. After finishing his studies at the Superior Conservatory of Music in San Sebastián with an honors degree, he continued his academic and professional training in the United States with a scholarship from the Diputación Foral de Guipúzcoa (Guipúzcoa’s Regional Government). At Boston University, he was awarded a full scholarship, appointed as a teaching assistant, and finished his studies by winning the University’s soloist competition. He has been a founding member of the Youth Orchestra of Euskal Herria, a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, Spoleto Music Festival and Tanglewood Music Festival working with great maestros and soloists of the international scene. Finally, he completed his conducting studies with an artistic postgraduate and doctorate in opera and orchestra conducting at the prestigious Frédéric Chopin University in Warsaw, under the mentorship of Maestro Sygmon Kawalla.

Urrecho’s active career has led to conducting many of the major orchestras in South Korea, Romania, and Russia: KBS Symphony Orchestra (the most important orchestra in Korea) performing L.v. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Lotte Hall concert hall in Seoul, the Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra performing G. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, National Radio Orchestra of Romania with works by Beethoven and Mozart and the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in Russia where he premiered the works Basque works and enhanced the works of M. Ravel.

In the operatic field, Unai Urrecho is one of the most prestigious and knowledgeable conductors in Korea. Maestro Urrecho has conducted operas such as: “Madame Butterfly” “Tosca” and “La Boheme” by G. Puccini, “Cosi fan Tutte”, “Don Giovanni”, “The Marriage of Figaro” y “The Magic Flute” by W.A. Mozart, “Rigoletto”, “La Traviatta” and “Aida” by G. Verdi, “Haensel and Gretel” by E. Humperdinck, “Hoffman’s Tale” by J. Offenbach, “Carmen” by G. Bizet, “Faust” by G. Gounod, “La Cederentola” by G. Rossini, “Die Fledermaus” by J. Strsuss among many others.

For the 2023-24 season, Unai Urrecho will conduct the operas as well as Symphony Orchestras such as Seongnam Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Primer Philharmonic Orchestra and Euskadiko Orkestra Sinfonikoa among others. With the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra he made his debut in the famous Quincena Musical de San Sebastián and recorded a CD of the opera Mirentxu by the composer J. Guridi.