Principal Bassoonist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Zhang Jin Min is a graduate of the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music and the Paris Conservatoire, and received his Master of Music degree from the Geneva Superior Conservatory. A widely respected performer and teacher, Zhang Jin Min has been a visiting artist at major conservatories in Europe and China.
Zhang Jin Min graduated from Beijing's Central Conservatory of Music in 1982, and won a French government scholarship to study at the Paris Conservatoire where he obtained an advanced performance certificate and was awarded a gold medal for chamber music. From 1984 to 1985, he was the Head of the Brass and Woodwind Departments at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, and at the same time, managed the China National Youth Orchestra. Following this, he received a government scholarship to pursue the Master of Music degree at the Geneva Superior Conservatory. He was a member of the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande before joining the Singapore Symphony Orchestra as Principal Bassoonist in 1987.
As a soloist, Zhang Jin Min has performed with the Singapore Symphony on several occasions. In addition, he has played with renowned orchestras including the Biel Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestre de Lausanne, Reims Symphony Orchestra, Fukuoka Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Broadcasting Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also given solo performances on Radio TV de France, the French national broadcasting network. In November 2000, he was appointed Guest Principal Bassoonist of the China Philharmonic Orchestra.
A widely respected performer and teacher, Zhang Jin Min has been a visiting artist at major conservatories in Europe, including the Geneva Conservatory in Switzerland, Academy of Saint-Maur in France, and Graz Academy of Music in Austria. He has taught and conducted masterclasses at many conservatories in China, and is currently a Visiting Professor of Music at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He has also been appointed as a visiting professor at the newly established China Orchestral Academy at the Central Conservatory. He was recently honoured by being named as the first artist consultant to the China Association of Musicians (Bassoon Association) for his outstanding contributions to music in China.
Zhang Jin Min has been a member of the artist faculty at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory since 2003. In addition to teaching, he is Head of Woodwind Studies, and was responsible for setting up and coordinating its woodwind chamber music programme, and for coaching the wind section of the Conservatory Orchestra. He was also conductor of the Conservatory Chamber Winds in the 2005/2006 academic year.
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Updated on 01/06/2009
