Press feature Xian Zhang ahead of NJ concerts
The Asbury Park Press writes:
Conductor Xian Zhang, who will take over as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchesta for the 2016-17 season, will lead the ensemble as guest conductor in a program of work by P.I. Tchaikovsky and Samuel Barber in a series of upcoming concerts.
The first performances will be April 7 and 8 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. The program will be repeated Saturday at Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre, and Sunday at the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.
While Zhang is appearing as a guest conductor, the event marks the first time NJSO audiences will see Zhang lead the ensemble since she was named its next director. She will officially take over from current director Jacques Lacombe in October.
Zhang will become the first woman to hold the music director role at the NJSO. She was chosen in part for the rapport that she was able to establish with the ensemble as a guest conductor in earlier events. She also has received high praise from critics around the world for her energy, emotional understanding of the repertoire, and her precision in leading ensembles.