A saxophone performer and music educator interested in sharing music between continents, Hengyuan comes from Shandong, China. His goal as an artist is to use music to connect people across different cultures and countries. From a young age, he understood that music has the power to bring people together, no matter where they come from. This belief in music’s ability to communicate beyond words motivates Hengyuan’s work both as a performer and teacher. Whether performing on stage or sharing his knowledge in the class, Hengyuan is dedicated to inspiring others through the saxophone and helping people find common ground through music.
He participated in many saxophone festivals including The North American Saxophone Alliance in Tennessee, The Asia Pacific Saxophone Academy in Bangkok and Festival Euroregionale Di Musica Classica in Italy which he attended masterclasses from Joshua Hyde and Taimur Sullivan. Hengyuan has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia. He has appeared at venues such as Kodak Hall, Kilbourn Hall, Hatch Recital Hall, Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall in the United States, Rangsit University Concert Hall in Bangkok, Thailand, Bolzano Concert Hall in Italy, ANA Concert Hall in China. In recent years, Hengyuan has held annual solo recitals. For instance, in 2023, he performed a solo recital at Howard Hanson Hall in Rochester. In 2024, he held a degree solo recital at Hatch Recital Hall at Eastman School of Music. He also won the second prize in the North American Saxophone Alliance Regional competition in 2025 and the third prize in the Shanghai International Saxophone Competition In 2018.
Hengyuan is currently a first-year graduate student at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, pursuing a master of Music degree in Saxophone Performance under Dr. Doug O’Connor. He graduated from Eastman School of Music and pursued a Bachelor of Music degree in Saxophone Performance under Dr. Chien-Kwan Lin. In his teaching career, Hengyuan has guided many talented students. Most of his students come from mainland China, with some from Taiwan, and their ages range from middle school to college level.
He was also a table tennis player, he participated in Shandong Province Table Tennis Championships and Shandong Province Games and got the fourth and silver medal place respectively. He also studied two years of basic conducting and one year of basic composition during his undergraduate studies.
Watch Hengyuan Zhang perform Sonatine for Alto Saxophone and Piano by Claude Pascal on the saxophone for the 2025 Spring Music Competition as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.