After beginning his professional career at an incredibly young age, Jaap van Zweden has had an illustrious career as a violinist, but more notably, as a conductor. He has led ensembles of varying sizes in repertoire covering orchestral and opera works from the Baroque to the 21st century. Along with his wife, Aaltje, he established a foundation to provide music therapy to children with autism. Leading the New York Philharmonic, van Zweden conducted the premiere recordings of Julia Wolfe's Fire in My Mouth in 2019 and David Lang's prisoner of the state in 2020. In 2022, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra announced that van Zweden will be its next music director, beginning with the 2024 season.