Tomomi Nishimoto has been appointed the first Japanese chief conductor of the state-run Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra in Russia, her office in Tokyo said Tuesday.

After graduating from the Osaka College of Music in 1994, Nishimoto, 31, continued to study at the Academy of Music in St. Petersburg, it said.

While vice conductor at several theaters in Russia for ballets and operas, she appeared as guest conductor with the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, it said.

She received a music award from Idemitsu Kosan Co. in 1999.