Contestant

Ningxin Zhan is a young classical pianist with a passionate artistic mission to share music with diverse audiences around the world. She has performed on important stages in China, Italy, and the US.

Ms. Zhan is the recipient of the 2nd prize award at the 2023 New York Franz Liszt Piano Competition, from which she made her debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and Stern Auditorium with St. Luke’s Orchestra playing Liszt Concerto No.1. She was also the 1st Prize award and Best Scriabin Performance Award at the renowned 2019 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition. Following this victory, she was invited by the Gulf Coast Symphony to play the Chopin Concerto No.2 in F minor in March 2022. She was also awarded top prizes at the 2023 Jacob Flier Piano Competition, the 2022 Yale Gordon Competition, the 2020 Sviatoslav Richter International Piano Competition, and the 2021 Vladimir Krainev Moscow International Piano Competition.

She started playing piano at the age of five. At the age of nine, Ningxin was accepted to attend the music school affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a recipient of annual and multiple other scholarships. Currently, she studies with Dr. Steven Spooner at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. As an active participant in music festivals, Ningxin was awarded the Clara Wells Scholarship recipient at the American Matthay Music Festival in 2023. She also performed at Aspen Music Festival & School, PianoTexas, PianoSummer at New Paltz, and Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, among which she received masterclasses from world-renowned musicians such as Richard Goode, Hung-Kuan Chen, Vladimir Feltsman, Alexander Kobrin, Matti Raekallio, Fabio Bidini, Ursula Oppens, and Jerome Lowenthal.