CCM alumna Xian Zhang opens Seattle Symphony's new season in $20M renovated hall
Zhang is the symphony's first female music director and begins her second season on Sept. 19
UC College-Conservatory of Music alumna Xian Zhang (DMA Orchestral Conducting, att. ’98-01) embarks on her second year leading the Seattle Symphony with a season-opening concert in Benaroya Hall, which recently completed a $20M renovation project.
Xian Zhang. Photo by Benjamin Ealovega.
The first female music director of the Seattle Symphony, Zhang began her tenure in the 2025-26 season and has led the orchestra in a range of blockbuster programs so far. Now beginning her second year, she opens the orchestra's 2026-27 season in the newly renovated Benaroya Hall on September 19. The performance features superstar pianist Yuja Wang on Sergei Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto (coincidentally, the CCM Philharmonia also performs this piece during its season-opening concert, starring DMA student Ding Zhou, piano).
The Seattle Times recently featured the renovation, spotlighting Zhang and Seattle Symphony's new season. Seattle Met magazine also recently featured Zhang and how she and the refreshed hall "breathe new life into the classical institution."
Zhang was pursuing her Doctor in Musical Arts degree at CCM in the late 90s when she was offered a faculty position in Orchestral Studies, making her one of the youngest ever hired by the college at the time. She now serves as music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (since October 2016) and music director of the Seattle Symphony — the first woman to hold either position. Learn more about her career on her professional website.
Featured image at the top: Xian Zhang. Photo by Benjamin Ealovega.
Related Stories
CCM shares fall 2022 schedule of performances and public events
August 12, 2022
Audiences are invited to return to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s (CCM) concert halls and theaters to experience world-class performances and presentations by the next generation of performing and media artists! The college’s fall 2022 schedule of free and ticketed events is now available. Tickets go on sale beginning on Monday, Aug. 22, through the CCM Box Office website.
In the News: CCM performs at New York's Carnegie Hall
January 16, 2024
UC College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) students and Broadway alumni took the stage at Carnegie Hall to present a one-night-only performance and fundraiser to help support the next generation of performing and media artists. The January 14 event honored CCM alumnus Stephen Flaherty while also raising money for CCM scholarships and educational initiatives.
Playbill: Recent CCM graduate leads Broadway stars in virtual performance of 'Holding On'
July 15, 2020
In the middle of his final semester at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, orchestral conducting student Jeremy Robin Lyons found himself in a new world that deprived him — for now — of the communal experience of making music with other people in person. The pandemic canceled performances, forced classes to move online and separated loved ones, but Robins was hopeful and set out to create a virtual choir and orchestra project that united musicians online.