Carrying the baton

China-born Xian Zhang is first female to be principal guest conductor with a BBC orchestra, yet another global first for the Liaoning native

Xian Zhang is the first woman to be appointed principal guest conductor with one of the BBC's orchestras, the National Orchestra of Wales.

The China-born conductor says it would be a good time for more female conductors to break into the male-dominated profession.

"Someone has to make a start. In fact, in China, female conducting is not a new phenomenon. A lot of conducting teachers are female," Zhang says.

With classical music becoming more popular in China, Zhang says the demand for conductors is increasing. Young conductors should seek opportunities to work in China, a hot spot that foreign musicians are eager to visit, she says.

"It's important to explore the world, but China is such a great market to be in."

The Chinese-American conductor left the country of her birth in 1998, when she was 25, to go to the United States, where she studied for her doctorate in music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She says when she started conducting courses in the US, she was surprised that what she learned in China was not taught elsewhere.

"The education in China for conducting is at a very compelling level. I didn't realize at that point how much I had learned compared with other students in the US. Students who are learning conducting in China now should realize how fortunate they are," Zhang says.

The training Zhang received in Beijing enabled her to build a strong foundation. Once abroad, she found the teaching methods not as structured, so she says she had to come up with her own structure.

She gained experience conducting a real orchestra twice a week, learning how to rehearse with a group of people.

"The philosophy of education in the US was free. The teaching doesn't limit you or ask you to imitate anything. Some people may not do well, but they still allow you to try."

Zhang has notched up a number of firsts around the world. In 2008, she was the first woman to conduct the Staatskapelle Dresden in its principal hall, according to The Star-Ledger newspaper. In March 2009, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi announced Zhang's appointment as its music director, the first woman to be named music director of an Italian symphony orchestra, according to an orchestra news release.

She was the first woman conductor appointed music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in the US, The Star-Ledger said. And she was also a regular conductor with the London Symphony and Royal Concertgebouw orchestras.

China certainly is on her agenda, as every year Zhang works with up to four orchestras there. Having a tight schedule across the globe makes her one of the 150 busiest conductors, according to a BBC Music poll in 2015, which had only four women on the list.

Speaking of orchestras in China, Zhang thinks the culture is growing rapidly, thanks to the growing economy.

"Since the economy is growing a lot, the needs of people emotionally and spiritually grow as well. In a way they need some kind of entertainment in the evening, something that is different from what they experience in daily life," she says.

Medium-size cities in China are starting to form their own orchestras. More concert halls are being built, too.

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

Born in Dandong, Liaoning province, near the North Korean border, Zhang was influenced by music early thanks to her parents. She started learning piano at age 3 with her mother, who was a music teacher. Her father, a musical instrument maker and a musician, built her first piano.

Zhang attended the Central Conservatory of Music, a leading music school in Beijing that has trained many famous figures, such as Lang Lang, the concert pianist.

Zhang learned piano first. She recalls 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 career choice until she became 20. "When you are young, you don't think too much about where you should go. I faced many challenges to prove that I really wanted to be a conductor," Zhang says.

She is not alone in switching from playing a musical instrument to conducting, which is a common path.

"Conducting is somehow an intimidating job to think about. It is not only women who don't go into this. Not a lot of men think about becoming conductors either.

"I would love to encourage more girls to learn this. I stay in touch with a few. But it still takes time." Zhang says she sees a lot of talented female conductors coming up through the ranks, and in time audiences will see many more.

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

Zhang will take up her duties as principal guest conductor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in September for three years and conduct around a dozen concerts a year, all over Wales and at the BBC Proms, the summer season of daily concerts in London. Highlights of the season include a performance at a prominent Welsh music festival and a collaboration with Chinese composer Qigang Chen.

Michael Garvey, director of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, says they are thrilled to have Zhang as part of the family.

"Our recent concerts with her, in Swansea and at 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 says.

For China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 01/29/2016 page18)