General music director Stefan Fraas was born in Vogtland and graduated from the conservatoriums of Weimar and Dresden. In 1992 he became the conductor and director of the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1995 also its manager. From 2000 to 2006, Stefan Fraas was the chief conductor of the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra in Essen. Concert tours took him to almost every European country, Cyprus, Israel, China and the U.S.A. He was named honorary conductor of the Chinese Radio Orchestra in Peking in 1999. He is vice president of the Saxon Music Board as well as chairman of the advisory committee of the Vogtland Cultural Convention.