Tianyi Lu (born 1989/1990) is a Chinese-born New Zealand

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

based in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Early life and education

Born in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China, Lu emigrated to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand with her parents when she was five. She studied the piano and flute and sang in various choirs throughout her youth. During her principal studies in flute and composition at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, she also began studying conducting with

Karen Grylls Karen Lesley Grylls (born 9 July 1951) is a New Zealand choral conductor. She is an associate professor in choral conducting at the University of Auckland and founder of Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir. Early life and education Grylls was ...

and Uwe Grodd, as well as with Eckehard Stier, the then music director of the

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra The Auckland Philharmonia (formerly Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, APO) is a symphony orchestra based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its principal concert venue is the Auckland Town Hall, and it is also the accompanying ensemble for Auckland stage ...

. She graduated from the University of Auckland with First Class Honours and was granted various awards and scholarships to study a Master of Music in Conducting with John Hopkins at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

, Australia. In 2012 and 2013, Lu was an active participant in the Symphony Services International Conducting Training Programme, which saw her take masterclasses with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra with teachers such as

Christopher Seaman Christopher Seaman (born 7 March 1942, Faversham) is a British conductor. Early life Seaman was born to Albert Edward Seaman and Ethel Margery Seaman. He was educated at Canterbury Cathedral Choir School and The King's School, Canterbury, and ...

and

Marko Letonja Marko Letonja (born 12 August 1961) is a Slovenian conductor. Biography Letonja studied piano and conducting at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where his conducting teachers included Anton Nanut. He continued his conducting studies at the ...

. In 2015, Lu completed a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting with Distinction with David Jones at the

Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

. She also attended several masterclasses in Europe.

Career

Positions

Tianyi Lu became the Principal Conductor of the St Woolos Sinfonia in Wales in 2014. Lu was also a Dudamel Fellow with the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic (LA Phil) is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. The orchestra holds a regular concert season from October until June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from ...

for the 2017/2018 season. Throughout 2017 to 2019, Lu was the Assistant Conductor for the

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on fun ...

. In 2019, Lu became the first Female Conductor in Residence for the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) () is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales. WNO gave its first performances in 1946. The company began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its early days, the ...

. In 2021, Lu was also announced as the Conductor in Residence with the

Stavanger Symphony Orchestra The Stavanger Symphony Orchestra (, SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Stavanger, Norway. The SSO principal venue is the Stavanger Concert Hall (Stavanger konserthus), performing in the Fartein Valen concert hall. History The Norwegian Broad ...

. Lu was appointed as a board member of the

in 2023.

Guest conducting

Orchestras Tianyi Lu has guest-conducted include the Hallé Orchestra, Romanian Radio National Orchestra, the Madrid Symphony, Gulbenkian Orchestra and

Royal Scottish National Orchestra The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) () is a Scottish orchestra, based in Glasgow. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an important part in Scotland’s ...

as well as the Turku Philharmonic, and Lapland Chamber Orchestra. Lu has also guest-conducted the

Seattle Symphony The Seattle Symphony is an American orchestra based in Seattle, Washington. Since 1998, the orchestra is resident at Benaroya Hall. The orchestra also serves as the accompanying orchestra for the Seattle Opera. History Beginnings The orchest ...

Pacific Symphony The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra based in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall as a part of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California. From 1987 to 2016 ...

, Singapore Symphony and

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

s, as well as the Auckland Philharmonia,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. In August 2024, Lu made her

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

debut conducting the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. The ...

. The programme included the UK Premiere of

Francisco Coll Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comm ...

’s Cello Concerto, played by Sol Gabetta.

Awards

In 2020, Lu won first prize at both the International Conducting Competition "Guido Cantelli" in Italy, and the "Sir Georg Solti" International Conducting Competition in Germany.

Other

Tianyi Lu featured in the fifth episode of the documentary series ''Wonder Women'' by Christina Rose and MirrorWater Entertainment. The episode, titled ''A Woman's New World'', was filmed in early 2020 and released at the end of 2021. This highlighted her ethos of empowerment, using music to create compassionate connections across diverse communities.

References

External links

Official website

Extended interview with Tianyi Lu, 20 September 2020
at RNZ {{DEFAULTSORT:Lu, Tianyi Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Chinese women conductors (music) New Zealand women conductors (music) University of Auckland alumni New Zealand classical musicians Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama University of Melbourne alumni People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School