Xian Zhang leads Yale Philharmonia in January concert
The Yale School of Music will present the Yale Philharmonia in a concert led by Xian Zhang on January 23. The program includes Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D major and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. The evening will open with “Primal Message,” a work by renowned violist and Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient Nokuthula Ngwenyama.
Zhang concurrently serves as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony. She previously served as Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, becoming the first woman to lead a major Italian symphony orchestra. She was also the first female conductor to hold a titled position with a BBC orchestra, serving as principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Zhang’s recent recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three (Deutsche Grammophon) earned GRAMMY® awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition and Best Classical Instrumental Solo.
“We are delighted to welcome Xian Zhang to lead the Yale Philharmonia. Her presence offers New Haven audiences the chance to hear one of the most distinguished conductors of our time, while providing our students with invaluable artistic mentorship,” says José García-León, the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music. “Engaging guest conductors of this caliber is central to our vision for student training and a natural extension of the strong foundation Peter Oundjian has built with the Yale Philharmonia.”
The concert will also highlight violinist Laurel Gagnon ’25MMA, a recent Yale School of Music alum. Gagnon’s performance of Brahms’s Violin Concerto won First Prize at the Dallas International Violin Competition earlier this year, and she will reprise the work with the Philharmonia.
Led by Principal Conductor Peter Oundjian, the Yale Philharmona regularly collaborates with distinguished guest conductors. Recent appearances have included Marin Alsop, Giancarlo Guerrero, David Robertson, and Leonard Slatkin.
