Xian Zhang

Dynamic, innovative, GRAMMY™ and Emmy-winning conductor Xian Zhang began her tenure as the Seattle Symphony’s Music Director in the 2025/2026 season, and her extraordinary talent and passion have been on full display ever since. “Joining the Seattle Symphony felt like coming home,” she says. “I have long felt a special bond with these incredible musicians. Visiting Seattle has always been a treat as well, for its beautiful landscapes, and of course, to see the clear devotion the people have for their local arts community. As Music Director, I am excited about connecting with audiences on a deeper level, experiencing inspiring concerts together and discovering new music at Benaroya Hall, one of my all-time favorite performance halls to conduct in. I look forward to a wonderful future together!”

A long-term Symphony collaborator who first debuted at Benaroya Hall in 2008, Xian has fostered a special relationship with Seattle, supporting the Symphony throughout the height of the pandemic and bringing new voices to our stage, including contemporary Chinese French composer Qigang Chen. The centerpiece work from her first season, his Peking opera-inspired Iris Dévoilée (Iris Unveiled), is featured on a live recording and her Seattle Symphony Media debut that was released on August 21, 2026.  

For her second season, Xian’s focus is nature and community, and the artists with local ties and works performed reflect this vision, encompassing Seattle favorite violinist James Ehnes as well as the Symphony’s own Concertmaster, Noah Geller. Xian conducts 13 blockbuster programs in 2026/2027 that kick off with Yuja Wang at Opening Night. Then, it’s on to Berlioz and Bruch, Tchaikovsky and Strauss, Mozart, Haydn, Rimsky-Korsakov and more, leading to April’s Nature in Music Festival, with works ranging from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony. She closes the season in June with Mahler, Brahms and Wagner, among other big names in symphonic music. Also featured in 2026/2027 are two co-commissions, by percussionist Joe Pereira and composer/guitarist Steven Mackey, and living composers like Ian Cusson and saxophonist Steven Banks, who will also perform.

Alongside her role here, Xian is in her 11th season as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony; she also holds the positions of Principal Guest Conductor of the China NCPA Orchestra (Beijing) and Conductor Emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano (Italy).  Her 2022 recording with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Time for Three, Letters for The Future (Deutsche Grammophon), won two GRAMMYs. Recent and future highlights as a guest conductor include Boston Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, The Metropolitan Opera, Toronto Symphony, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Orchestre national de Belgique.

Xian Zhang’s position is generously underwritten as the Harriet Overton Stimson Music Director.

Music Director Xian Zhang is generously sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Charles and Lisa Simonyi and an anonymous donor.