Lauren Zhang (born in December 2001) is an American-born pianist who won the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Young Musician Contest in May 2018. In 2010, Zhang moved with her parents to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, United Kingdom, where she studied music at the junior department of

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly research and docto ...

while attending

King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS) is an all-girls public school (United Kingdom), public school located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It was founded in 1883 and occupies the same site as, and is twinned with the King Edward's Scho ...

. She began studying at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 2020. Zhang is currently a medical student at

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...

. She graduated from Harvard College in 2024, where she concentrated in Chemistry and did a secondary in applied mathematics.

Biography

Born in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, Lauren Zhang started to play the piano under Madeline Ignazito when she was four years old, and the violin under Terry Coulton at the age of six in Illinois. In 2010, when their family moved to England, Lauren Zhang joined the Junior Department at the

and initially studied piano with Rebeca Omordia. Since 2011, she has been studying the piano under Dr Robert Markham who was a finalist at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 1994, and the piano class winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition in 1986. Zhang has also studied the violin at the Conservatoire under Sam Mason. In addition, Lauren Zhang has received advice and participated in masterclasses with Kenneth Hamilton, Lan Mi,

Fabio Bidini Fabio Bidini (born 11 June, 1968) is an Italian pianist. He was a top prize winner at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in 1992 and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1993. He is currently on the faculty at the Co ...

, Peter Donohoe, Kalman Drafi, Philip Martin, Pascal Nemirovski,

Menahem Pressler Menahem Pressler (; 16 December 1923 – 6 May 2023) was a German-born Israeli-American pianist and academic teacher. He was known for his work with the Beaux Arts Trio that he co-founded in 1955, playing until its dissolution in 2008, in hund ...

and John Thwaites. Lauren also receives guidance from

Christopher Elton Christopher Elton is a British piano teacher, former Head of the Keyboard department of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a professor emeritus of the University of London. Biography Christopher Elton was born in Edinburgh and studied at ...

. She achieved her fellowship diploma in piano performance at the age of 13, having completed her licentiate diploma the year before. She also achieved her licentiate diploma in violin at the age of 12. Interested in chamber music, she plays in ensembles. At the final of the Young Musician competition, Zhang played

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's Second Piano Concerto, accompanied by the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall, Birmingham in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its adminis ...

conducted by

Mark Wigglesworth Mark Wigglesworth (born 19 July 1964) is a British conductor. Biography Born in Sussex, Wigglesworth attended Bryanston School, Manchester University, and the Royal Academy of Music in London.. He won the Kondrashin Conducting Competition in A ...

. Commenting on her performance, the judging panel chair

Kerry Andrew Kerry Andrew (born 5 April 1978) is an English composer, performer and author. They have won four British Composer Awards. They have published three novels and twice been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. They perform alt-fo ...

praised her "technical skill and intelligent musicality". The winner of the 2004 competition, and 2018 BBC Young Musician Ambassador, the violinist

Nicola Benedetti Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is a Scottish classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She works wi ...

, noted her "natural genuine musicianship" while

Julian Lloyd Webber Julian Lloyd Webber (born 14 April 1951) is a British solo cellist, conductor and broadcaster, a former principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the founder of the In Harmony music education programme. Early years and education Julia ...

, head of

, said: "Having spent a lifetime making music with some of the world’s finest musicians, I can honestly say that Lauren is up there with the best—she is a total phenomenon." Timothy English, who heads the Junior Conservatoire, commented: "Lauren has been a student at the Junior Conservatoire for the past eight years and it has been a great privilege to watch her develop into an extraordinary young pianist. She is a musician of exceptional talent and commitment, and this latest success is richly deserved." In 2016, Lauren Zhang won the first prize at the 15th Ettlingen International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Germany. Among other achievements, she was a prize winner at the Young Pianist of the North International Competition (2015) and the Wales International Piano Festival (2016), first prize winner in the EPTA-UK competition (18 and under (2016), 15 and under (2015), 12 and under (2013)), and first prize in the Emanuel Piano Trophy competition (2015).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Lauren 2001 births Living people American women classical pianists Musicians from Albuquerque, New Mexico Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands People educated at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham 21st-century American classical pianists 21st-century American women pianists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American classical violinists American women violinists Alumni of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire American musicians of Chinese descent Harvard College alumni