Alex Zhang -  Pianist

Alex Zhang began playing the piano at the age of four and quickly excelled with the achievements from local eisteddfods. In 2013, Alex had his debut solo performance with the Penrith Symphony Orchestra and was a finalist in the Sydney Conservatorium Concerto Competition in 2015 and 2016. He was also accepted into the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, performing in Brisbane in 2015. He finished his Bachelor of Music in Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2016 studying under Paul Rickard-Ford and Natalia Ricci, being awarded the John & Dorothy Vimpani Pianoforte Scholarship, the Dorothy Ryder-Phillips Award and the Myra and Greg Bell Piano Prize. He has participated in international piano competitions in Verona, Italy and in Radovljica, Slovenia and performs regularly in concerts in Germany. Alex recently was a recipient of the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe Scholarship and has in 2021 completed his Masters of Music at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg studying under Prof. Inge Rosar, Ana-Mirabela Dina and Silke- Thora Matthies. In 2022, Alex was awarded first place at the Princess Galyani Vadhana International Ensemble Competition with ‘The Elan Trio’ and also won first place at the Australian National Piano Award along with the prize for Best Haydn/Schubert, Best 20th century/Romantic and the Audience Prize. In 2023, he also performed in Norway at the Oslo City Museum and in 2024, was the first prize recipient of the David Miller Award in collaborative piano and chamber music. Since returning to Australia, Alex has continued his studies with Natalia Ricci.