Ryan Zhang, a San Francisco Bay Area native, is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying piano with Robert Shannon. Since middle school, Ryan has received professional training in the focus of percussion, conducting and piano, cultivating a well-rounded musical foundation. His extensive experience encompasses performing in orchestras, leading ensembles, and interpreting music as a solo artist. This diverse background provides him with a unique and profound perspective to approach music. 

He began his piano education at age 5 under his father's guidance and made his recital debut at 7. At 10, he moved to Shanghai, China, where he was accepted into the Music Middle School affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music as a percussion major under Hua Gao. Under his father's influence, he discovered conducting and changed his major to study under Conductor Xiao’ou Zhao in high school. Ryan gained valuable experience conducting the Youth Symphony Orchestra of the High School affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory. 

Returning to the U.S. for his undergraduate studies, Ryan focused on piano at Oberlin, quickly expanding his repertoire through a solid foundation based on his past experiences. In addition to solo repertoires, he had a lot of opportunities to play chamber music, He attended chamber masterclasses with the Kronos Quartet, Christopher Stark, Nick Phontinos and actively participated in the Contemporary Music Ensemble, led by Tim Weiss, performing new compositions and world premieres. Ryan continued to engage in festivals and masterclasses for both piano and conducting, attended the Virtuoso & Belcanto festival in Lucca, Italy and had masterclasses with esteemed pianists Boris Berman, Imogen Cooper, Yejin Gil, Roberto Prosseda, and Wei-Yi Yang. He also took part in Carl Topilow’s conducting workshop and conducting masterclasses held by renowned Chinese conductors Renchang Fu and Qiyuan Zhu. In the same year, Ryan was awarded the second prize at the Villafranca International Piano Competition in Italy, in his first major piano competition.