About

Yi Zhang is a laureate of numerous competitions. Her successes in competitions include first place in KMTA Graduate Piano Division Competition, Best Bach Performance Competition, Best Schumann Performance Competition, and Charleston International Competition 20th Century Music Competition. She was also named an Outstanding Musician in the 2020 IBLA Grand Prize International Competition. In 2022, Yi was invited to compete in the 15th International Piano Competition of Orléans for 20th/21st-century music in Orléans, France, and performed the world premiere of a piece written for her performance in Orléans by composer Jean-Patrick Besingrand. 

 

As a soloist, Yi Zhang has been selected to perform in concerts such as the Piano Gala Recital of LIPF, Graduate Honors Recital at KU School of Music, Fellows Concert of Cortona Sessions, and IIYM Student Recital. Besides her collaborating with vocalists and instrumentalists, Yi finds her interest in new music, and has been working with composers and premiering many pieces in the US and Europe. Yi premiered Bonnie McLarty’s chamber opera Snow Angel with KU Symphony Orchestra and KU Opera in 2021. Most recently, Yi was selected to perform Fay Victor’s Flow to the Next with members of International Contemporary Ensemble as part of Wunsch New Music Festival. With the same interests in new music, Yi and her friend Peiyao Yu (yupeiyao.com) have been enjoying playing contemporary music as Vessel Duo. 

 

Yi is originally from Sichuan, China. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Sichuan Conservatory of Music, Master’s and Doctoral degrees and a Graduate Certificate in piano performance from the University of Kansas under the instruction of Dr. Michael Kirkendoll. Her previous teachers include Pheobe Hailing Zhang, Dr. Chenggang Yang, Dr. Jack Winerock, and Dr. Eric Zuber. She has also been selected to play masterclasses with many pianists such as Mr. Robert McDonald, Dr. Zhe Tang, and Mr. John Perry. Yi is now serving as Assistant Professor of piano and colloborative piano in the music department at the School of Arts at Chengdu Sports University in Chengdu, China.