Zheng Xiaoying

Zheng Xiaoying (Chinese: 郑小瑛; pinyin: Zhèng Xiǎoyīng; born 1929) is the first woman conductor in China. Zheng was the chief conductor of the China National Opera House (CNOH) and she formed and conducted at the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra.[1] She has also been a dean in the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (CCOM).

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zheng.
Zheng Xiaoying
Background information
Born1929 (age 91–92)
Yongding, Fujian, China
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Conductor
Years active1956–2013
Associated actsChina National Opera House, Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra

Biography

Zheng was born in Yongding, Fujian.[2] Zheng is of Hakka descent and felt that her family valued education.[3] Zheng first studied at Jingling Women's University in Nanjing in 1947.[4] Zheng took part in the Chinese Communist Revolution, where her job was to train a large song and dance troupe and conducting Chinese operas.[5] She was working in Henan province.[4]

Later, Zheng studied at the CCOM in 1952.[2] Her first conducting teacher was Nicolai Tumascheve, who taught chorus-conducting.[6] In 1955, she was sent to a special course taught by Soviet conductors where she was the only woman in the class.[7] She taught at the CCOM between 1956 and 1960.[7] Zheng then studied opera conducting at the Moscow Conservatory between 1960 and 1963.[2] In 1962, she was first Chinese conductor to conduct an opera in a foreign setting when she conducted "Tosca" at the Moscow National Theater.[8] After Moscow, she returned to CCOM and taught until the Cultural Revolution interrupted her work.[7] During the revolution, there "was no classical music in China".[5]

Zheng became the Principal Conductor at the CNOH in Beijing in 1977.[9] She was involved in the "influential performances" of The God of Flowers, La Traviata, Carmen, Le Nozze di Figaro and Madam Butterfly.[6] In the 1980s, she helped French conductor, Jean Perrison, make the first Chinese translation of Carmen when he visited Beijing.[5]

In 1993, she founded the first women' symphony orchestra in China, the Ai Yue Nu Philharmonic Orchestra, which has performed around the world.[10] The group plays both Western and Chinese music.[11] Zheng and the women's orchestra performed at the Fourth World Conference on Women.[8]

When Zheng retired from the China National Opera in 1997,[4] she moved to Xiamen.[12] In 1998, she started the Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra (XPO), a non-State musical ensemble.[3] The XPO has grown steadily under her leadership, gaining worldwide recognition.[4] Zheng was a torchbearer in Xiamen for the 2008 Olympic Games.[4][13] In 2011, she was honored with the Golden Melody Prize from the Chinese Musicians' Association.[5] Zheng received the 2012 Chinese Cultural Figure title for her contribution to music education and conducting.[14] She retired from the XPO in 2013.[5] In 2014, she was honored by the CNOH with the title "Honorary Conductor for Life."[7]

Zheng is an educator who works to help the public understand and appreciate the orchestra.[7] She also teaches audiences about concert etiquette.[15]

She is the mother of Zheng Su, who is one of the few ethnomusicologists from China teaching in America, and she is a grandmother to Aimee Zheng.

References
  1. "China's First Female Conductor Zheng Xiaoying". Cri English. 22 April 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  2. Cheng, Ye (December 2013). "Zheng Xiaoying: Cultural Symphony". Confucius Institute Magazine. 6 (29). Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  3. "Zheng Xiaoying: Gifted Woman Who Gives Music to the Public". China.org. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. "Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra founder - Zheng Xiaoying". What's On Xiamen. 20 July 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  5. Brown, Emily Freeman (2015). A Dictionary for the Modern Conductor. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 379–380. ISBN 9780810884014.
  6. Ge, Congmin (2005). Davis, Edward L. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. Routledge. p. 1015. ISBN 9780415777162.
  7. Liu, Sylvia (10 April 2014). "CNOH Confers Zheng Xiaoying 'Honorary Conductor for Life'". Women of China. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  8. "Chinaview People". Xinhua Online. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  9. "Zeng Xiaoying (1929-)". Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Gale. 2006. ISBN 978-0787675851.
  10. "Professor Zheng Xiaoying: China's First Woman Conductor". Unbreakable Spirits: Women Breaking Down Barriers in China. Asia Source. Archived from the original on 24 June 2006. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  11. Edwards, J. Michele (2003). "Women on the Podium". In Bowen, Jose Antonio (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Conducting. Cambridge University Press. pp. 233. ISBN 9780521527910. Zheng xiaoying conductor.
  12. "Zheng Xiaoying, Conductor of Xiamen Philharmonic Orchestra 'Unstoppable'". What's On Xiamen. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  13. "Zheng Xiaoying". Confucius Institute. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  14. "Famed Female Conductor". Beijing Review. 55 (52): 7. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2016 – via EBSCO.
  15. Zhou, Laura (19 May 2015). "Off Notes: Lessons in Etiquette for China's Classical Music Concergoers". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
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