A native of Qingdao, China, Ning Zhang encountered the clarinet after pursuing a career as a professional ping pong athlete for a decade. With her passion for music, just two years later, Zhang was awarded the First Prize of the National Youth Music Competition of China. In the following years, she had continued success in winning major competitions including the Vandoren Emerging Artist Competition, the National Society of Arts and Letters Competition, and the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra Solo Competition.

Zhang’s leadership as an emerging international musician extends beyond solo clarinet playing. During the past years, she has been invited as a guest performer at various international music festivals, including Verbier Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and The National Orchestra Institute (U.S.), among many others, sharing her music with audiences around the world.

Following the completion of her Bachelor and Master of Music studies at The Juilliard School through the highly selective accelerated BM/MM program in 2020, Zhang is currently pursuing her DMA at The Juilliard School, under the guidance of the celebrated clarinetist Charles Neidich.

A devoted pedagogue, Zhang was awarded a teaching fellowship at Juilliard in her sophomore year and taught Ear Training and Music Theory courses at Juilliard from 2017 to 2022. Returning to her home country in 2022, Zhang now serves on the Pre-College faculty of the Tianjin Juilliard School and The Yehudi Menuhin School (Qingdao).