My Background
As a concert pianist
Hailed by Olin Chism of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as “a highly musical person, a master not only of technique but of interpretation” and Lyn Bronson of Peninsula Reviews as having “a masterful technical control that permitted him to go way beyond technical challenges and reveal the essential beauty and significance of each work he performed”, pianist NING ZHOU has been a laureate in several distinguished international piano competitions. A native of China, now residing in Texas, he has competed in the 2013 Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Fort Worth, the 2015 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, and was a semi-finalist in the 2015 Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition in Brussels, in addition to victories in several competitions while living in China.
An avid chamber musician, Ning Zhou won first prize in the 3d Coltman Chamber Music Competition in Austin Texas and was invited to perform at the Zephyr International Chamber Music Festival 2014 in Courmayeur, Italy and the Decoda Chamber Music Institute in 2016.
Ning holds Master’s degrees from the Shanghai Conservatory and the San Francisco Conservatory as well as an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music, while studying with Mack McCray and Sharon Mann, also at the San Francisco Conservatory. He is currently pursuing his DMA degree as a Teaching Fellow at the UNT College of Music, under the direction of Dr. Pamela Mia Paul. He recently won the UNT College of Music Concerto Competition and performed the Rachmaninoff Concerto #2 with the UNT Symphony under the direction of David Itkin.
Performance
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 in c minor, Op.18
Conductor: David Itkin
UNT symphony orchestra
"I find Ning deeply fascinating to learn from; he approaches the works with an integral sense of detail, supported by technique, in the service of delivering both what the composer wrote and a consistent, personal, interpretation. He has, on more than one occasion, pointed out to me ways in which a single note or marking can be pivotal in understanding the structure of the piece, and hence in interpreting it. He is respectful of my interpretative ideas, while always helping me adhere to the composer’s intent; he is flexible also in the technical approach, willing to try different various approaches in the service of musicality and interpretation.
Ning’s personal technique and interpretative ability are phenomenal, yet he is often able to perceive why a phrase that he can play with facility might be hard for his student, and thereby propose practice techniques, ways of thinking, or understanding, that help the student overcome the difficulty: he reaches out to the student where they are, and helps them with the stumbling blocks they face."