Zongheng Zhang is a first-year Doctoral student in Orchestral Conducting at Michigan State University, studying under Professors Octavio Mas-Arocas and Kathrine Kilburn. He recently earned his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin, where he served as Assistant Conductor for the UT Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the UT University Orchestra.

Throughout his conducting career, Zhang has been invited to guest conduct the Williamson County Symphony Orchestra and served as Assistant Conductor for the Austin Opera, the Butler Opera Center and Berlin Opera Academy, collaborating with renowned Maestros Timothy Myers and Douglas Kinney Frost. Driven by a deep passion for opera, Zhang has conducted and assisted in numerous productions, including La Bohème by Puccini, The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky, Tea: A Mirror of Soul by Tan Dun, and Carmen by Bizet.

From 2016 to 2021, Zhang was the Concertmaster and Principal for The Orchestra Now (TON) and Bard Conservatory Philharmonic in New York, performing under Maestro Leon Botstein at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Fisher Center, Symphony Space, and the Kennedy Center. In March 2022, he returned to Bard Conservatory to serve as Concertmaster for the opera Salome by Richard Strauss.

Zhang holds a Double Degree from Bard College in Violin and Viola Performance and Psychology. As a string player, he studied violin with Todd Phillips, Gil Shaham, Luis García-Renart, and Adele Anthony, and viola with Melissa Reardon. He won the Violin Concerto Competition at Bard College in 2019 and the Viola Concerto Competition in 2018. During his time at Bard, he also studied conducting with Harold Farberman, Tan Dun, and James Bagwell.