(TORONTO, ON) -- Acclaimed Chinese-American conductor Xian Zhang, the Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, returns to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the first time since 2009. She will lead Principal Flute Kelly Zimba Lukić in Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s masterful showcase for the instrument’s many shades and a shining example of one of the most distinct and remarkable voices in turn-of-the-20th-century music. Nokuthula Ngwenyama’s Primal Message considers how humankind communicates what really matters, using the first message sent into space as a point of departure. Boundless energy exudes from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4.

Performances will take place on Saturday, February 26 at 8:00pm and Sunday, February 27 at 3:00pm at Roy Thomson Hall. Tickets start at $29, and are available for purchase online, or by contacting TSO Patron Services at 416-598-3375.

In accordance with Public Health policy, audience capacities for performances between February 22 and March 13, 2022 will be 50% (approximately 1,300 patrons).

Acclaimed for her connection with musicians and audiences, Xian Zhang serves as Music Director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra through the 2023–24 season.

Zhang is conductor emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, following a hugely successful period as music director from 2009–16. She has previously served as principal guest conductor of the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales, becoming the first female conductor to hold a titled role with a BBC orchestra.

Kelly Zimba Lukić joined the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as Principal Flute in 2017. Previously a flute fellow at the New World Symphony, she has performed with the Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Palm Beach Symphony Orchestras and performs with the Lakes Area Music Festival Orchestra in Brainerd, Minnesota during the summer season. As a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician, Ms. Lukić has performed around the world in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, Royal Albert Hall, and the Teatro del Lago in Frutillar, Chile. She was featured on the cover of Flute Talk Magazine in October 2017.

In addition to performing, Kelly has served on the faculties of NYO Canada, NYO2, Orford Winds Workshop, Credo Flute, Toronto Summer Music Academy, SItka Fine Arts Camp, and Belvoir Terrace. She regularly teaches masterclasses at universities, youth orchestras, and flute clinics across the United States and Canada.

During the pandemic, Kelly co-founded Trillium Flute Collective with American flutists Rachel Blumenthal and Amanda Galick. Together, they designed a series of online flute workshops for students of all ages and commissioned three new pieces for solo flute by composer Kenzie Slottow. In Toronto, Kelly teamed up with TSO colleague Clare Semes to form Sonority Sisters, a flute and violin duo that creates virtual and in person events across the GTA and has been featured on BlogTO, CBC News Toronto, CTV Your Morning, and Global News.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly completed her graduate studies at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and received bachelor's degrees in flute performance and music education from the University of Michigan. She is greatly indebted to all of her teachers, especially Leone Buyse and Amy Porter.

Roy Thomson Hall is located at 60 Simcoe Street in Toronto, ON.

PHOTO BY FRED STUCKER