Ying Zhang – Artistic Director

Chinese-Canadian pianist Ying Zhang has established an active career as a soloist, chamber musician, and collaborative artist, with performances across Canada, the United States, and China. Her musical activities encompass solo recitals, chamber music, vocal collaborations, and contemporary repertoire.

Born into a musical family, Ying began studying piano at the age of four under the guidance of her father. At eleven, she was admitted to the Middle School Affiliated to the Tianjin Conservatory of Music in China, where she continued her training in her father’s piano studio. At seventeen, she was admitted to the Manhattan School of Music and later transferred to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she earned a Post-Graduate Professional Studies Diploma. She subsequently received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance from McGill University, where she studied with Stéphane Lemelin. She has further enriched her musical development through masterclasses and private studies with John Perry, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Anton Nel, Ronan O’Hora, Jean Saulnier, Lydia Wong, Manchun Chen, and Henry Kramer.

In recent seasons, Zhang has appeared in concerts across Canada, including performances in Montréal, Ottawa, Kingston, Halifax, and Vancouver. Her engagements have taken her to venues such as Huguette Labelle Hall at the University of Ottawa, Redpath Hall and Pollack Hall at McGill University, Pyatt Hall in Vancouver, the Spire in Kingston and the Peggy Corkum Music Room in Halifax. Her recent collaborations and shared concert appearances include performances with violinists SongHa Choi, Jake Dongyoung Shim, Jae-Won Bang, Julia Mirzoev, and Roman Fraser, soprano Ariane Cossette, and cellist Song Hee Lee.

Ying is the recipient of several distinctions, including McGill University's Outstanding Achievement in Piano Award and the Paul-Marcel Gélinas et Verna-Marie Parr Gélinas Piano Award. She was also awarded First Prize at the 1st Tianjin Conservatory of Music’s Professional Piano Competition and received merit scholarships from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Orford Musique.

Beyond her performing career, Ying serves as Artistic Director of Harmonaire Musique, a Canadian nonprofit organization. Among its projects is the Cataraqui Chamber Music Festival in Kingston, Ontario, which received the City of Kingston Heritage Award in 2026.