Prof. Zheng Xiaoying

Professor Zheng Xiaoying is a prominent conductor of opera and symphony orchestras.  She is a long-time faculty member, and former director of the Conducting Department at the China Central Conservatory of Music, and is now the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra.  Professor Zheng was awarded the First Prize for national conductors by China's Ministry of Culture.  She received the Honorable Medal of French Literature and Art, and has been commended by the Chinese government many times. 

Zheng Xiaoying graduated from the China Central Conservatory of Music.  In the 1960s, she took advanced studies in opera and symphony orchestra conducting from N. Anosov and G. Roshgestvensky at the Moscow National Conservatory.  In the 1980s, she was Principal Conductor of China¡¯s Central Opera Theatre.  She has frequently participated in important national activities as a conductor for music programs, and has conducted more than two thousand operas and symphony concerts.   She is also a warm-hearted advocate for mass music education and has given thousands of music lectures across China.  Zheng has been invited to hold concerts and operas in Europe and Asia, as well as in Russia, Australia, USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao.

Being one of the most famous conducting professors in China, she has trained many successful young Chinese conductors, such as Chen Zuohuang (Music Director of China National Grand Theater and Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, former Music Director, China National Symphony Orchestra), L¨¹ Jia (Musical Director of the Fondazione Arena di Verona, Italy, Director of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, Spain and Macau Symphony Orchestra), Yu Feng (Music Director, China Central Opera House, Director of Conducting Department at the Central Conservatory of Music), Wang Jin (Music Director, Wuerzburg-philharmoniker, First Conductor of Berlin Comic Opera), Hu Yongya£¨Music Director, EOS-Orchestra Academy at the Central Conservatory of Music), Peng Jiapeng (Music Director,  China Opera and Ballet Theater).

In 1998, Zheng Xiaoying was invited to establish the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra.  In only ten years, XPO has become one of the top symphony orchestras in China. The number of served musicians has grown to 80.  Zheng played a central role in the development of the Xiamen Philharmonic and has received many honors for her contributions.

Zheng was a nominee for ¡°1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize 2005,¡± and was twice chosen by the City of Xiamen as a ¡°model of morality,¡± and was the Artistic Director of the World Choir Games 2006, Xiamen, China.

PROPOSED REPERTOIRE

(1) To be selected from the repertoire of recent international conducting competitions.

(2) Selections from concertos and operas

Beethoven           Symphony No. 3     (movements ¢ñ,¢ó)

Beethoven           Symphony No. 4     (movement ¢ò)

Brahms              Symphony No. 1     (movement¢ñ);

Brahms              Symphony No. 2     (movement¢ò);

Berlioz             Fantastic Symphony (movement¢ñ,¢ò);

Tchaikovsky         Symphony No. 6     (movements¢ñ,¢ò);

Copland             Appalachian Spring£¨for 13 instruments£©

Rachmaninov         Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini

Sibelius            Violin Concerto    (movements ¢ñ,¢ò)

Mozart              Recitatives from opera ¡°The Marriage of Figaro¡±Nos. 19, 27

The course will be taught in Chinese and English.