Chinese conductor becomes first woman in charge of BBC orchestra

Xian Zhang, at 25 the first woman to be appointed as a guest conductor with a BBC National Orchestra in the UK. [Photo/Provided to China Daily Europe]

"Almost every time I went back to China I would hear a newly formed orchestra. It's fantastic,"Zhang says, "There are also young conductors coming out from music schools in China and they are well-trained. They proved themselves by participating in a lot of international competitions as well.”

Born in Dandong, China, near the North Korea border, Zhang got her music influence from her parents. She started learning piano at three years old, with her mother who was a music teacher. Her father, a musical instrument maker, and a musician himself, built her the first piano.

Zhang then attended the Central Conservatory of Music, a leading music school in Beijing, where lots of musicians were trained, such as Lang Lang, the concert pianist.

Zhang was learning piano at first. She recalled that her teacher kept complaining about how small her hands were. Then she met Professor Wu Lingfen, who introduced her to conducting after five years studying piano.

She did not consider conducting as a choice of career until she became 20. "When you are young you don't think too much about where you should go. I received many challenges to prove that I really wanted to be a conductor,"Zang says.

Yet Zhang is not alone when she switches from piano to conducting. Most of the conductors start on instruments and switch to conducting afterwards.

"Conducting is somehow an intimidating job to be thinking of,"Zhang says, "Therefore not only women who are not active in this sector, not a lot of men are thinking to become conductors as well.”

"I would love to encourage more girls in learning this. I get in touch with a few. But it still takes time,"Zhang says. She sees a lot of talented female conductors coming, and in time audience will see many more.

Yet Zhang also feels she has a responsibility to set a good example for more female conductors to come. "Somehow you have to prove to people that there's no difference between female and male in conducting,"she says.

Under the new appointment as the principal guest conductor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Zhang will join in September this year for three years and conduct around a dozen concerts a year, all over Wales and at the BBC Proms. Highlights of the season include a performance at a prominent welsh music festival and a collaboration with Chinese composer Qigang Chen.

Michael Garvey, Director, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, said they were thrilled to have Xian Zhang as part of the family as Principal Guest Conductor.

"Our recent concerts with her, in Swansea and the BBC Proms, were so energized, balanced and refined; we knew that an appointment would be the perfect fit. We look forward to seeing her back in Cardiff in September,"Garvey said.

Karen Kwok is a freelance writer who contributed this piece to China Daily.