Dr. Jiyuan Zhang started piano at age of 3. She was accepted to the Music Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music when she was 10. Her childhood accomplishments include the 1^st place at the 1st China National Youth Piano Competition, gold medal at the Shanghai “Haiman” Piano Competition, 1^st place at the 71^st International Steinway Piano Competition, 1st place at the 1^st National Professional Piano Competition in China and 3rd place at the Asia-Pacific International F.Chopin Piano Competition in Korea. During her study in Shanghai, she was the recipient of Lily New Scholarship and Chengxian Fu Scholarship for 3 consecutive years since 2008. She performed selections of Chopin’s Mazurkas, Waltzes, Nocturnes, Polonaises and Chopin Piano Concerto in e minor, Op.11 with the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra on a 12-hour Gala Concert for the two hundredth anniversary of Chopin’s birth in 2010. At The signing of the Sister-City Agreement of Basel (Switzerland) and Shanghai, she performed a recital for the Swiss Ambassador to Shanghai. In addition, she recorded CDs for the Piano Grade Examination on Social Arts Level at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2011, she recorded a CD of Chinese Violin Concerto Butterfly Romance and selections of Chinese violin music with Chinese-American violinist Le Zhang. The album has been released on Apple Music.

After moving to the United States in 2011, Dr. Zhang went to Interlochen Arts Academy with full scholarship, studying with Dr Thomas J. Lymenstull. She won 2nd place at the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Piano Competition in 2012. In 2013, she won 2nd place at Lennox International Concerto Competition in Dallas, TX as the youngest contestant. As the two-time winner at Interlochen Arts Academy Concerto Competition, she performed Chopin f minor Concerto and Liszt E-flat Concerto with Interlochen Symphony Orchestra. She served as International Student Ambassador at Interlochen, and was awarded the Young Artist Award 3

years in a row for her artistic achievements. She was selected to play in the masterclass series in Gilmore Piano Festival in 2014. In the same year, she was accepted to the University of Michigan, School of Music, Theater and Dance with full scholarship. As the Concerto Competition winner at the University of Michigan, she performed Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini, Op.43 with University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of the Grammy nominee, Maestro Kenneth Kiesler. At the same time, as the orchestral pianist in the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra and Symphony Band, she released several CDs of orchestral works with Naxos and Equilibrium Records, playing works by Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová, English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, and William Bolcom. She also performed a concert of Chinese Piano Music, Sounds from the East to the West, hosted by the Confucius Institute of University of Michigan. She was awarded University Honors for 4 years for her academic performance. In 2018 she went to Rice University, Shepherd School of Music with full scholarship. She served as the Principle Chair of Keyboard in Shepherd School of Music Symphony Orchestra for two years. In 2020-2021, she worked as the Departmental and Curricular Assistant at the University of Michigan, School of Music. In 2021 she was accepted to the DMA program at Michigan State University with full scholarship and graduate assistantship, teaching Class Piano courses. When she graduated from Michigan State University, she received a letter from Joe Biden, the President of the United States, congratulating her on her Doctoral degree graduation.

Dr. Zhang holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The University of Michigan, where she was recognized as a James B. Angell Scholar for her academic excellence. She holds a Masters of Music degree from Rice University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Michigan State University. Her teachers include Logan Skelton, Robert Roux, and Deborah Moriarty.