Jack (Jin) Zhang
Mr. Jin Zhang, associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre, was born in Beijing China. He received his first musical education at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing China. Then he traveled to Japan and studied at Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, Japan. He studied conducting with Professor Morihiro Okabe. He also studied conducting with maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama and in a master class with Seiji Ozawa.
Jin Zhang came to Canada in 1990. He quickly became known as a conductor and composer who actively promotes appreciation and education of symphonic orchestral music and combines Eastern and Western musical expressions. He has directed and conducted many musical organizations in Vancouver area including symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, Chinese traditional orchestras and choirs. He has composed for many groups including TV production and CD recording. Many of his compositions and arrangements have been played by professional and community groups including the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Some of his works have been broadcast by BBC, CBC, VTV and other networks. He has received many grants from the Canada Council for the Arts for his compositions. He composed for the Millennium Project produced by the Vancouver Chinese Culture Centre. The film he composed music for ("Nu Shu" -- A Hidden Language of Women in China) received the Audience Award and Best Documentary at the Festival Internazionale Cinema Delle Donne in Torino, Italy in 2001.
Jin Zhang currently holds the position of Music Director and Conductor in the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra (since 1992) and the Vancouver Youth Symphony Intermediate Orchestra, and is the Artistic Director of the Westcoast Choir. He also conducts the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra, the B.C Chinese Music Association Ensemble, and has been invited to conduct the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra as Guest Conductor. In 2004, Jin Zhang was honoured by the City of New Westminster for ten years of distinguished service to the New Westminster Symphony Orchestra and the City.
Jin Zhang is working on his new composition commissioned by The Orchid Ensemble and a CD production for his compositions. Both of the projects received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.