Rising-star conductor Xian Zhang is giving up her post on the conducting faculty of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music next year because her calendar is overflowing with major conducting engagements, the school announced Monday.

Since winning first prize in a conducting contest founded by New York Philharmonic maestro Lorin Maazel and philanthropist Alberto W. Vilar, Zhang has been in demand. This summer, she'll be in the pit for Cincinnati Opera's Don Giovanni in July. In October, she's conducting Verdi's La Traviata in Venice, Italy, followed by young people's concerts with the New York Philharmonic (she won a fellowship as part of her prize). In May 2005, she will conduct the London Symphony Orchestra.

The school will bring in guest conductors to replace her next year, says Mark Gibson, head of orchestral studies. A search has not been announced.

Janelle Gelfand