Born in Dandong, Liaoning, China, to musician parents,[1] Zhang began to learn music as a child with her mother on a piano built by her father.[2][3] She continued her music studies at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees.
Her first conducting appearance was at age 19 with the China National Opera Orchestra in a production of The Marriage of Figaro.[4]
Zhang moved to the United States in 1998.[5] She studied for her doctorate in music at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and for four years was the music director of the university's orchestra. In 2002, she shared the first prize of the first Maazel-Vilar Conductor's Competition. She was a cover conductor with the New York Philharmonic from 2002 to 2004. She became an assistant conductor with the New York Philharmonic in 2004, and her conducting debut with the orchestra was in a Young People's Concert that year.
In January 2005, she made her Philharmonic subscription debut on a program with Lorin Maazel.[6] Maazel subsequently appointed Zhang as the orchestra's associate conductor in 2005,[7] a post she held for several years.
Zhang served as the music director of the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2007.[8] In January 2008, she became the first woman to conduct the Staatskapelle Dresden in its principal hall.[9] In March 2009, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi announced the appointment of Zhang as its next music director, the first woman to be named music director of an Italian symphony orchestra, effective with the 2009–2010 season.[10][11] In December 2010, the Nederlandse Orkest- en Ensemble-Academie (NJO; Dutch Orchestra and Ensemble Academy) named Zhang its artistic leader, as of the summer of 2011.[12]
Zhang conducting the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 2024
Zhang first guest-conducted the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 2010, and returned for further guest appearances in February 2012 and May 2015.[13][14] In November 2015, the NJSO announced her appointment as its 14th music director, effective in September 2016, with an initial contract of 4 years.[15] She is the first female music director of the NJSO.[16] In March 2022, the NJSO announced the second extension of her contract, through the 2027–2028 season.[17] Zhang is scheduled to conclude her NJSO tenure at the close of the 2027-2028 season.[18]
In December 2015, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) announced her appointment as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of three years. She is the first female principal guest conductor with any BBC orchestra.[19] In this capacity with the BBC NOW, she was the first woman conductor to conduct the annual Prom, which includes the Symphony No. 9 of Beethoven, on July 30, 2017.[20] In 2019, Zhang was announced as Principal Guest Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, beginning in 2020.[21]
Zhang first guest-conducted the Seattle Symphony in June 2008,[22] and returned as a guest conductor several times, including in 2020 and in 2021.[23] In September 2024, the Seattle Symphony announced the appointment of Zhang as its next music director, effective with the 2025-2026 season, with an initial contract of five years. She took the title of music director-designate with immediate effect. Zhang is the first female music director of the Seattle Symphony.[24]
