FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Nick Dobreff, Communications and Creative Director
616.485.3913 (m) – 303.308.2477 (o)
ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org
COLORADO SYMPHONY APPOINTS MINGYU SON AS PRINCIPAL TIMPANI
South Korean-born timpanist appointed after a nationwide audition process.
Aug. 24, 2026 – Denver, CO – The Colorado Symphony is pleased to announce the appointment of Mingyu Son as its new Principal Timpani beginning with the 2026/27 Season. Son was selected following a highly competitive national audition process that attracted 72 timpanists from across the country.
Son joins the Colorado Symphony having previously performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, New World Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra, and was a percussion fellow at the National Repertory Orchestra.
As a chamber musician, Son performs with The Percussion Collective under the direction of Robert van Sice. His appearances with the ensemble include performances at Kaufman Music Center in New York and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., as well as the world premiere of Alejandro Viñao’s Poems & Prayers. He has also performed Garth Neustadter’s Seaborne for percussion sextet and orchestra with The Percussion Collective and The Florida Orchestra.
In 2024, Son performed in Can We Know the Sound of Forgiveness at Carnegie Hall, a multidisciplinary production featuring music by Gabriela Ortiz and created in collaboration with The Crossing and dancers from The Ailey School. He also performed Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al as one of four featured soloists with the Yale Concert Band at Woolsey Hall and on tour in Spain.
Son studied at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. He holds a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University.
The Colorado Symphony looks forward to welcoming Son to Boettcher Concert Hall and to the Denver community as he assumes this leadership role within the orchestra. For more information, visit coloradosymphony.org.
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CONTACT:
For more information or to request interviews, please contact:
Nick Dobreff, Communications and Creative Director
ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org – 303.308.2477 (o)
For high-resolution, downloadable images of the Colorado Symphony, contact: ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org
Support for the 2026/27 Colorado Symphony Season is provided by: The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), Denver Arts & Venues, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, CU Anschutz, The Schoen Foundation, and the Colorado Symphony Guild.
TICKETS:
Tickets to Colorado Symphony events are available online at coloradosymphony.org/tickets, by phone at 303.623.7876, and in person at the Boettcher Concert Hall Box Office, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 1000 14th Street. The Box Office is open Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday, noon – 5 p.m., and two hours prior to each performance.
ABOUT THE COLORADO SYMPHONY
One of the leading orchestras in the United States, the Colorado Symphony Association is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization performing more than 150 concerts annually at Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver and across Colorado. Led by Music Director Peter Oundjian, the Colorado Symphony is home to eighty full-time musicians representing more than a dozen nations and regularly welcomes the world’s most celebrated artists from across musical genres. The orchestra celebrated its Centennial during the 2023/24 concert season and now serves more than 340,000 people each year through live performances at Boettcher Concert Hall, Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre, and other venues throughout Colorado’s Front Range. Boettcher Concert Hall, which opened in 1978, was the first in-the-round symphonic venue built in the United States. In November 2025, voters passed the Vibrant Denver Bond, which allocates $20 million to a future renovation of the concert hall. Guided by a vision to inspire and unite humanity through live symphonic music, the Colorado Symphony is a living heartbeat of the state — expressing its beauty, creativity, vitality, and inclusive spirit. Through unmatched artistry and bold innovation, the Symphony inspires Colorado and audiences everywhere while expanding access, fostering education, and creating lasting memories through meaningful personal connections. Recognized as an incubator of innovation, creativity, and excellence, the Colorado Symphony listens to and learns from its diverse communities, musicians, and staff; composes and creates with curiosity and versatility; and leads with empathy, collaboration, and responsible stewardship. The Symphony continually expands its reach through in-person and virtual education programs, community partnerships, and programming that celebrates achievement, honors diverse voices, and infuses joy on and off the stage. The Colorado Symphony partners with leading musical artists, cultural organizations, corporations, foundations, educators, sports teams, and individuals to connect people, uplift communities, and inspire everyone to feel part of something greater.