Honorary Music Director for Life——Chen Zuohuang 

Shanghai born conductor Chen Zuohuang started his education as a pianist at The Middle School attached to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and graduated from the conservatory’s Conducting Department. By the recommendation of acclaimed conductor Seiji Ozawa, Chen continued his studies at the Tanglewood Music Centre and the School of Music, University of Michigan in United States. He became the first to receive the Doctoral degree of Musical Arts in Orchestra Conducting from the University of Michigan in 1985, as well as the first Chinese to hold a Doctoral degree of Musical Arts in the People’s Republic of China.

In 1987, Chen was Conductor of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China and lead the orchestra on a historic tour covering 24 cities in the United States, including New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles.

Chen went on to lead the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China, China National Symphony Orchestra, China Youth Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hamburg Youth Orchestra on orchestra tours to Europe, America and Asia.

As a much sought-after conductor, Chen has been invited to guest conduct more than thirty orchestras around the world. Among them, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovakia Radio Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Festival Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Mexico National Symphony Orchestra and the Xalapa Symphony Orchestra.

Chen’s presence is prominent in Asia too, having conducted some of the top Asian orchestras such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Taipei City Symphony Orchestra and the Pusan Philharmonic Orchestra.

Besides being invited as a conductor, Chen was also invited to be a jury member of many international musical competitions.

Passionate and captivating, Chen’s art of conducting has own praises from audience and musicians wherever he works. Chen’s enthusiasm in introducing and promoting Chinese symphonic music and musical talents to the world, made him a respected and welcomed musical figure worldwide.

Since the start of Chen’s conducting career from 1980, Chen had been the conductor of the Central Philharmonic Orchestra of China; Music Director of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra （1990-2000）; Music Director of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra （1992-1996）. Maestro Chen was also the highly respected founding Artistic Director of the UNAM Philharmonic Orchestra in Mexico （2002-2006）、Artistic Director of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra（2004-2008）and the Music Director of Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra in South Korea（2006-2010）、Music Director of Guiyang Symphony Orchestra(2010-2015).

RICO SACCANI most recently served as Music Director/Artistic Adviser of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra and was principal guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera.  He won top prize in the Herbert von Karajan International Conducting Competition in Berlin.  He was immediately engaged to perform with the Berlin and Stuttgart Radio Orchestras, the Royal Danish Philharmonic and the Spoleto Festival. His opera debut came in 1985 in Verdi’s Un Giorno di Regno at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona.  La Traviata at the Paris Opera and the Vienna State Opera, Il Turco in Italia at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro plus La Bohème at the Philadelphia Opera with Luciano Pavarotti for the PBS American television network immediately followed.

He has returned on numerous occasions as a guest conductor with the most important symphony orchestras around the globe.  He has also worked with many of the world’s greatest solo artists.  Maestro Saccani has also appeared at the Hamburg State Opera, the Lyon Opera, the Monte-carlo Opera, the Arena de Nimes Festival, the Paris Opera Comique, Rome, Dresden and Cologne Operas.  He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Il Trovatore and re-engaged for the first international radio broadcast of Traviata and Aida. He was also invited to conduct at the Teatro San Carlo (Naples), the Arena di Verona (Rigoletto), the Houston Grand Opera, the Puccini Festival Torre del Lago (Turandot), the Teatro Bellini di Catania (La Favorita and I Puritani) as well as the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Avenches Swiss Festival and the Santander Summer Music Festival in Spain.  Maestro Saccani initiated a “Verdi Marathon” in the Hungarian State Opera house in January 2000 celebrating the Millennium where he conducted seven Verdi operas in 9 evenings.  He returned to New York’s Carnegie Hall and Washington’s Kennedy Center that same year with the Iceland Symphony as their Music Director on their acclaimed North American tour.

In 2005 he received Hungary’s Legion of Honor award recognizing his “distinguished contributions to Hungary’s cultural life for over 20 years”.