Biography

Tianyu Zhang holds a Bachelor of Arts in Musicology and Statistics from the University of Virginia and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California. His teachers included Edwin Livingston, Bob Mintzer, Russell Ferrante, Yuxing Zheng, and Peter Spaar.

Having performed with renowned artists like Michel Camilo, Etienne Charles, Dafnis Prieto, Juno Su, John D’earth, Purem Jin, Greg Howard, Lauren Sevian, Carolina Cavache, and Judith Shatin, Zhang has consistently garnered praise for his skills. In 2020, he earned the Highest Distinction and the Distinguished Artist Award from the University of Virginia, and in 2021, Zhang won second place in China’s JZ National Jazz Masters Competition. Zhang was elected to the U.S. National Music Honor Society, Pi Kappa Lambda, and was offered a full scholarship and teaching assistantship for the Ph.D. program in Music at the University of Virginia in 2023. Today, Zhang continues his studies at the Frost School of Music as he pursues a Doctorate of Musical Arts.

Beyond his role as a performer, Zhang has seized opportunities as a bass instructor, sharing his expertise with various institutions. His students are touring nationally and have secured scholarships from prestigious music performance programs in Korea and the U.S..