Jing Zeng
The Phoenix Symphony
MMB Alumna
Violinist Jing Zeng joined the first violin section of The Phoenix Symphony in September 2006. Zeng began playing the violin at age four and was accepted as the top violin student at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music at age 11. Zeng was the prize winner of the Sixth National Violin Competition in Beijing, China at age of 15. The following year Zeng received the full scholarship to the Young Artist Program of the Cleveland Institute of Music where she received both of her bachelor and master degrees, studying with David Cerone, Linda Sharon Cerone, and William Preucil.
Zeng has performed in numerous recitals and chamber music concerts in the United States. She was the first prize winner of the Darius Milhaud Performance Competition and the Suburban Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. Zeng toured Japan twice as the associate concertmaster and principal second violin of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra under the baton of Valery Gergiev, Bernard Haitink, Fabio Luisi and Edo de Waart and performed chamber music with musicians from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. She was invited as an alumni to form the PMF 20th anniversary Orchestra and performed with Christoph Eschenbach in 2009. Zeng attended the New York String Orchestra Seminar under Jamie Laredo and performed with Leon Fleisher and Gil Shaham at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Zeng was the principal second violin and soloist for the National Repertory Orchestra and was a member of the Colorado Music Festival in Colorado. Zeng has also been selected to participate in the Music Bridge International Music Workshop five times in Canada. Zeng participated in various master classes of such eminent musicians as Andres Cardenes, Martin Chalifour, Sidney Harth, Ida Kavafian,Donald Weilerstein, Pinchas Zuckerman, Mimi Zweig, Cavani String Quartet, Cleveland String Quartet, Emerson String Quartet and musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic.
Zeng was a member of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Pops Orchestra and Virginia Symphony Orchestra. She also served as the concertmaster of the Mansfield Symphony Orchestra.
As a music educator, Zeng's violin students have gained acceptance to the top music schools including Curtis, Colburn, Juilliard, New England Conservatory and Cleveland Institute of Music. Her students were the Arizona state winners, southwest division winners as well as the national first prize winner of the Music Teachers National Association Strings Competitions. Her students have been regularly recognized as top prize winners at the Arizona Musicfest Young Musicians Competition, the Youth Symphony of the Southwest Concerto Competition, Chandler Symphony Orchestra Youth Competition, Phoenix Youth Symphony Young Musicians Competition, and American String Teachers Association Solo Competition. Her students made solo appearances with the Phoenix Symphony, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, West Valley Symphony Symphony and Chandler Symphony Orchestra. Her students were full scholarship students and the concerto competition winners in Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Brevard Music Festival, Heifetz Institute, Interlochen Art/ Camp, Morningside Music Bridge and Philadelphia International Music Festival. Zeng was the teaching assistant of Linda Sharon Cerone.
