The SUU College of Performing and Visual Arts welcomes Guest Conductor Zhang (Jacob) Yue to the Department of Music for the 2009-2010 academic year.  Yue is Principal Conductor of the Henan Symphony Orchestra, Permanent Conductor of the award-winning Zhengzhou Foreign Language School Symphony Orchestra and is on the faculty of the Music Department of Zhengzhou University, in Zhengzhou City, China.  Yue studied orchestral conducting at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and the Wuhan Conservatory of Music. 

While at SUU, Yue will collaborate with Professor Xun Sun, Director of the SUU Symphony Orchestra, to serve as guest conductor of the SUU Symphony and Community Orchestras.  Yue will conduct Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A Major for the Symphony Orchestra’s September 30th concert.  Additionally, Mr. Yue will teach conducting classes, Chinese instrumental music lectures and seminars in modern Chinese orchestral works. 

Yue is an accomplished musician and guest conductor.  Prior to being appointed as the Principal Conductor of the Henan Provencal Symphony Orchestra, he served as the orchestra’s Principal Clarinetist for over 20 years, touring internationally to Sydney, Australia.  He has guest-conducted many orchestras, including the Inner Mongolia Symphony, the Xi’an Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Shanxi and the Shandong Symphony Orchestra.  Yue also serves as board member of the China Clarinet Association and the China Wind Association.

The SUU Symphony Orchestra will perform four concerts for the 2009-2010 school year: September 30, December 1, February 9, and April 9, all at 7:30 p.m. in Thorley Recital Hall.  The September 30 concert will feature Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, and internationally renowned guest soloist Hannah Sun performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor.  All Symphony Orchestra concerts are ticketed events, and tickets can be purchased by calling (435) 586-7872, or by visiting www.suu.edu/arts and clicking Purchase Tickets.