Chunyi Zhao

That interest gradually became a new direction. After graduating in 2017, Chunyi returned to China to study conducting with Sicong Bian. A year later, she moved to Berlin, beginning her bachelor’s studies with Christian Ehwald at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler. She stayed to complete her master’s with Markus Stenz. Across these moves—from Shenyang to Beijing, Singapore to Berlin—her musical life expanded from the perspective of an instrumentalist to the responsibilities of the podium.

Her work now takes her between orchestral rehearsals and opera productions. She has assisted Kent Nagano on the Hamburg State Opera’s China tour, Markus Stenz in Wagner productions in Hangzhou, and George Benjamin with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. Alongside these collaborations, she has appeared as a guest conductor with the Bremer Philharmoniker and Theater für Niedersachsen, and serves as Chief Conductor of Das Neue Berliner Stadtorchester.

There have been milestones along the way: a third prize in Bucharest, a Diploma Prize at the Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition, and support from the German Music Council’s Forum Dirigieren. In 2026, she joined the Althafen Foundation Talent Studio.

The next chapter leads to the Hochschule für Musik Saar, where she will begin the Konzertexamen programme with Manuel Nawri in October 2026. Conducting has become the centre of her professional life, but the violin remains part of her identity—the instrument with which this journey began.