THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY WELCOMES SUNNY XIA AS DOUGLAS F. KING ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

XIA WILL BEGIN HER APPOINTMENT IN THE 2022/2023 SEASON

Photo Credit: Mio Arai & Jeff Sharoff

Seattle, WA – The Seattle Symphony is pleased to announce the appointment of Sunny Xuecong Xia as Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor, beginning September 2022. Xia currently serves as Assistant Conductor of the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra and Arizona State University Symphony Orchestra where she is simultaneously pursuing a doctorate in Orchestral and Opera Conducting. Xia won the position after a thorough selection process, including a working rehearsal session with the Seattle Symphony and interview with a panel representing musicians, board and staff. Her zeal and passion for contemporary music will complement the Symphony’s history of bringing new music to audiences at Benaroya Hall and throughout the greater community.

As Assistant Conductor, Xia will contribute to several Education and Community Engagement programs including Link Up. She will also conduct the Family Concerts, which will begin in-person performances again during the 2022/2023 season. In addition to her performances with the Symphony, Xia will also serve as cover conductor for guest conductors throughout her appointment.

Lee Mills will continue to serve as the Symphony’s Associate Conductor through the current 2021/2022 season, until Xia succeeds him at the start of the 2022/2023 season.

SUNNY XUECONG XIA | DOUGLAS F. KING ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Recognized for her innate musicality, compelling presence and technical precision, conductor Sunny Xuecong Xia’s ability to forge an immediate and captivating connection with orchestras and audiences alike has led to engagements around the country. Currently, Xia is leading a production of La bohème with the Chandler Opera Company. She also recently appeared with double bassist Xavier Foley and violinist Eunice Kim in Foley’s poignant work For Justice and Peace, and served as cover conductor for Arizona Musicfest. In the 2020/2021 season, she appeared as guest conductor with the MusicaNova Orchestra and was invited to serve as Assistant Conductor at the National Music Festival and Pierre Monteux Music Festival.

A dynamic advocate for contemporary music, Xia has led the CIM New Music Ensemble in music series such as the Cleveland NEOSonicFest and CIM New Music Series. She has led several world premieres, including Rodney Rogers’ Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra with violinist Christiano Rodrigues and the MusicaNova Orchestra. She also served as a Conducting Fellow in the 2020 Cortona Sessions for New Music Conductor and Advocate Virtual Summit. Equally at home and in the opera pit, Xia has served as assistant conductor for productions of several operas, including Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte, The Juniper Tree, Le Rossignol and L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. Dedicated to bringing music to the community, while in Cleveland, Xia organized and led concerts in retirement communities and elementary schools, including an interactive presentation of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf in East Cleveland for an audience of 4th and 5th graders.

During the 2019/2020 season, Xia was selected by Marin Alsop as a Conducting Fellow in the Peabody Conducting Workshop. She was also appointed Apprentice Conductor at the North American New Opera Workshop and served as cover conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and Firelands Symphony Orchestra.

Originally from Guangzhou, China, Xia relocated to Sydney, Australia at the age of 14 on a sponsorship from the Australian String Academy. Xia holds a dual master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting and Violin Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied under the tutelage of Carl Topilow and Jan Mark Sloman. Her conducting teachers include Jeffery Meyer, Tito Muñoz, Brian DeMaris, and Michael Jinbo. Xia is also a talented basketball athlete and previously competed in the semi-professional New South Wales Metro Junior League. When not performing or enjoying a pick-up game, Xia can be found reading, kayaking or learning languages. She speaks Cantonese, English, German, Mandarin and Teochew, and is improving her French and Italian.

SEATTLE SYMPHONY 

The Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 27 Grammy nominations, two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 750,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts, and through the Seattle Symphony Live streaming service, the orchestra’s concerts reach audiences at home and around the world. 

Sponsors:
Sunny Xuecong Xia’s position is generously underwritten as the Douglas F. King Assistant Conductor.
Seattle Symphony Family Programs are supported by The Klorfine Foundation.
The Seattle Symphony’s Family, School & Community programs are supported by 4Culture, Arakawa Foundation, Marco Argenti, Merriman-Ross Family, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Maryanne Tagney, the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Foundation and individual contributions to the Seattle Symphony Annual Fund.

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