A native of Qingdao, China, Ning Zhang discovered her instrument, clarinet, after spending a decade pursuing a career as a professional table tennis athlete. Her dedication and passion for music led to swift success—within just two years, she won First Prize at the National Youth Music Competition of China. She went on to earn top honors in several prestigious competitions, including the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, the National Society of Arts and Letters Competition, and the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra Solo Competition. As a soloist, Zhang has performed with leading orchestras in China such as the Changsha Symphony Orchestra and the Wuhan Philharmonic.

Beyond her work as a soloist,  Zhang is also an active orchestral and chamber musician. She has appeared at major international festivals including the Verbier Festival and the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and in May 2023, she was appointed guest Principal Clarinetist of the Changsha Symphony Orchestra.

Zhang holds bachelor of music, master of music, and doctor of musical arts degrees from The Juilliard School, where she studied with the renowned clarinetist Charles Neidich. From 2017 to 2022, she served as a Teaching Fellow in Ear Training and Music Theory at Juilliard. She currently maintains an international teaching career, serving on the faculty of The Tianjin Juilliard School, where she teaches Music Theory and Ear Training. She is also on the clarinet faculty at the Tianjin Conservatory of Music and the Yehudi Menuhin School Qingdao. In the summer, she teaches at the European American Musical Alliance (EAMA) program in Paris, a long-standing institute rooted in the French-American school of music theory and musicianship.