Zheng Xiaoying

Maestra Zheng Xiaoying is China’s first-ever female opera-symphony conductor, as well as an educator and music social activist. 60 years ago, she became the first Chinese conductor to conduct a Western opera in an overseas opera house. She was formerly the Chief Conductor, and now, the Lifelong Honorable Conductor of China National Opera House, was the Dean of the Conducting Department at the Central Conservatory of Music, and Music Director of the Ai Yue Nv Chamber Orchestra. Between 1997 and 2013, she was the founding Artistic Director of the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra. She currently is the Artistic Director of Zheng Xiaoying Opera Center.Maestra Zheng was awarded theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Minister of Culture.She was awarded twice the Russia-China Friendship Medal of Honor. She is a permanent member of the Honorary Artistic Presidency of the World Choir Games. She has received the Outstanding Contribution Award from the Central Conservatory of Music, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Golden Bell Award, and the Extraordinary Contribution to China’s Opera Award. Maestra Zheng took the Symphonic Poem TheEchoes of the Hakka Earth Building, creative ideation by Zheng Xiaoying and composed by Liu Yuan, to 12 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia,in 77 performances. To realize her idea of "bringing opera close to the public and inviting the public to come into opera," Maestra Zheng introduced to the Xiamen audience a dozen important Western and Chinese operas. Maestra Zheng merged the Chinese-translated lyrics into Mahler's orchestral song cycle, Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), which was based on Chinese poems from the Tang dynasty to once again revive a hundred years old concepts of "中为洋用“（Chinese poem adapted in Western music）into “洋为中用”（Western music adapted in Chinese）. And she conducted its performance at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. For decades, she has been pursuing her belief in “Noble arts, embraced by the masses," sharing the wonderful world of music with the public.