Whal Ran Seo has given concerts in Rome and at the Se-Jong Theatre in Seoul. She took part as a soloist in the first performance in Rome of the oratorio Il Giuseppe ritrovato by Pasquale Anfossi. Until 2004 she was a member of the chorus of the Grand Theatre, Geneva.
Following her success in Geneva, Whal Ran Seo appeared in July 2004 at the Festival de Radio-France & Montpellier (concert broadcast live on France Musiques), then at the International Ohrid Festival (Macedonia) and the Guebwiller Festival (Alsace, France). She has other engagements in Europe lined up for the seasons to come. 

Michael Hofstetter was born in Munich, where he trained as a pianist and conductor. He soon made a name for himself, in Germany and elsewhere, as a conductor with a rare ability to obtain authentic Baroque sound and expression with a modern orchestra. It was his recordings of two operas by Handel, Oreste in 1994 and Serse in 1996, that really drew public attention to his style. Michael Hofstetter is now recognised as a model of Baroque interpretation.

He was principal conductor of the Wiesbaden Opera from 1992 to 1997 and music director of the Giessen Opera and Symphony orchestra from 1997 to 2000. Until 2002 he taught conducting and early music at Mainz University.
Dividing his time between operatic performances and concerts, he has conducted many important productions in Germany, including “Die lustige Witwe”, “Anna Bolena” and “Tamerlano” in Berlin, “Tristan und Isolde” in Dortmund, “Médée” (Cherubini) in Koblenz, “Giulio Cesare” and “Nabucco” in Hanover, and “Il Trovatore”, “Cosí fan tutte” and “Alcina” in Hamburg.

In 2001 Michael Hofstetter was appointed conductor of the Orchestre de Chambre de Genève and within the first year he had imparted to the orchestra his savoir-faire and his concern for authenticity, gradually introducing early instruments into the ensemble (trumpets, flutes and natural horns, Classical bows, Baroque timpani) and thus creating a finely balanced sound. His inaugural performance with the OCG of Handel’s Saul was a great success, the orchestra having spontaneously adopted the style that had earned him the acclaim of the international press.

Michael Hofstetter has appeared at many festivals in Germany – notably the Rheingau Festival, the International Handel Festival in Karlsruhe, the “Mozart Matinee” concerts at the Salzburg Festival – and in other countries, including Austria (“Wiener Blut” and “Die lustige Witwe” in Vienna), Norway (“Die Zauberflöte” in Oslo) and the Netherlands (“Ariodante” at the National Opera, Enschede).
He has taken part in various productions for television (including Arte and ZDF) and has conducted various German radio orchestras (Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Südwest-Rundfunk and Westdeutscher Rundfunk).

Apart from his work with the OCG, Michael Hofstetter’s engagements for next season include “Giulio Cesare” at the Liceu in Barcelona, “Iphigénie en Tauride” at the Welsh National Opera, “Orfeo ed Eurydice” at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, “Le Nozze di Figaro” at the Bayerisches Staatsoper, Munich, “Il Turco in Italia” at the Hamburgische Staatsoper and “Rodelinda” at the Handel Festival in Halle.

During the 2004-2005 season Michael Hofstetter will also be making his début at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele as artistic director of the festival orchestra.