Clara Zhang

Clara Zhang, 16, is a merit scholar at the Music Institute of Chicago, where she studies piano with Dr. Matthew Hagle. Clara has performed extensively at piano concerts, chamber music recitals and music outreach programs. She has performed on the stages of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall, Nichols Concert Hall, Chicago Culture Center, Northwestern University Galvin Recital Hall, and Indiana University Auer Hall. In 2018, following winning the Chicago Chamber Music Festival’s concerto competition, Clara debuted a piano concerto with the Northeastern Illinois University Symphony Orchestra. In April 2023, Clara was featured in the 2022-2023 Season Young Steinway Concert Series at the Illinois Skokie Library.

Clara is a First Prize winner at the 2023 London Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition, the 2023 American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition, the 2021 Bach with a View International Young Artists Competition and the 2018 Illinois State Music Teachers Association Competition. She is also a winner of the Walgreens National Concerto Competition, the Clara Schumann International Piano Competition, the Carmel Klavier International Piano Competition, the Enkor International Piano Competition.

Clara was honored to participate in the piano master classes of Dr. Daniel Shapiro of the Cleveland Institute of Music, Dr. Sylvia Wang of Northwestern University, Dr. Jean-Louis Haquenauer of Indiana University, Dr. Caroline Hong of Ohio State University, Dr. Robert Weirich of UKMK Conservatory, Dr. Svetlana Belsky of University of Chicago and the renowned composer and pianist Conrad Tao, invited via Chicago Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.

Clara is an avid chamber musician, with extensive experiences playing with strings, flutes and saxophones. Aside from piano, Clara also enjoys playing the violin and snare drum.

Clara devotes her time to performing at community outreach concerts. She’s been organizing and performing frequently at the Arbor Terrace Concert Series, Mather Place Concert Series, Sedgebrook Lincolnshire Concert Series and Avidor Glenview Concert Series.

You can find Clara’s 2022 International Piano Competition performance here.

You can find Clara’s 2023 Romantic Music Competition piano performance here.