Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ^2024-2025

Xian Zhang is Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Emerita of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi. Current and upcoming seasons feature the Philharmonia Orchestra La Verdi, Spanish National Orchestra, Komische Oper Berlin, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Warsaw Philharmonic, Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Philadelphia, Detroit, Minnesota, Montréal, Toronto, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Xian Zhang will make her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 2024. Previously, she led opera productions at Den Norske Opera Oslo, the English National Opera, Washington National Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. Xian Zhang is the first female conductor to hold a titled role with the BBC Orchestra. Winner of the Maazel-Vilar Conductor’s Competition, she was the New York Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor, Associate Conductor, and first ever Arturo Toscanini Chair.

South African cellist Abel Selaocoe has established himself as a leading voice of reimagining classical music. Redefining the parameters of the cello, he moves seamlessly across a plethora of genres and styles, from collaborations with world musicians and beatboxers, to concertos and solo performances. Selaocoe combines virtuoso performances with improvisation, singing and body percussion, and is devoted to composing works and curating programmes that highlight the links between Western and non-Western musical traditions, broadening the horizons of classical music to reach a more diverse audience. In May 2021, Abel Selaocoe was announced as an inaugural Power Up Music Creator participant in PRS Foundation’s new initiative to address anti-Black racism and racial disparities in the music sector and in July 2021, he received a Paul Hamlyn Foundation award for his compositional work. 

Austrian percussionist and composer Bernhard Schimpelsberger performs on a uniquely multi-layered and melodious drumkit, creating a fascinating “interweaving of colours and elements, of virtuosity and surprising twists” (Augsburger Allgemeine). Schimpelsberger studied the complex rhythmic system of Indian classical music under master drummers Suresh Talwalkar and Trilok Gurtu. He is a passionate collaborator who has worked with artists such as Anoushka Shankar (sitar), Akram Khan (dance) and across genres with Spanish flamenco dancer Israel Galvan and Brazilian Master guitarist Yamandu Costa, among others. His audiovisual music project Rhythm Diaries, which documents his collaborations and studies, has been critically acclaimed and received numerous awards. Schimpelsberger’s original compositions have been performed at Beethovenfest Bonn and at the Rowing World Cup Championships in Ottensheim/Linz, as well as by the Britten Sinfonia Orchestra and Malta’s National Dance Company.