Ms. Zihan is an accomplished pianist and dedicated educator with extensive training in classical piano. She began her musical journey in China at the age of seven, studying under professors from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. By twelve, she had achieved Level 10 in the Grade Examination of Musical Performance, and at seventeen, she earned the prestigious Second-Class Grade A award in the Tsinghua University and Peking University National Art Grade Test.
She pursued her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where she studied under world-renowned Irish pianist Peter Mack. She later obtained her Master of Music in Piano Performance from Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ, training under distinguished pianist Veda Zuponcic. During her time at Rowan, she held an assistantship and contributed to undergraduate piano courses under pianist Alexander Timofeev.
Ms. Zihan has participated in numerous prestigious music festivals, including the Cap Ferret Music Festival, where she was awarded “Troisième Accessit” in 2022. She also attended the Northern Lights Music Festival in Minnesota in 2020 and 2021, performing Scriabin’s Etude Op. 42, No. 1 in Edisher Savitski’s masterclass. Her chamber music repertoire includes Beethoven’s trio and Prokofiev’s sonata for cello and piano, performed in the Young Artist Recital. Additionally, she collaborated with the Minnesota Orchestra’s Principal Oboist on Poulenc’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano.
Her performance experience extends to solo recitals, notably in Raisbeck Performance Hall in Seattle (May 2022) and Boyd Recital Hall in Glassboro, NJ (Winter 2024), where she presented a demanding program featuring Liszt’s Rigoletto Paraphrase and Prokofiev’s Second Piano Sonata. She has served as an accompanist for the studios of Noa Even, a versatile saxophonist, and Lourin Plant, a distinguished vocalist with experience in the Opera Company of Philadelphia, New York City Opera, and Philadelphia Classical Symphony. Additionally, she worked as a church pianist at South Vineland United Methodist Church (March–May 2023) and taught at New Jersey Main Street Music School during the Spring 2023 semester.
Beyond performance, Ms. Zihan is passionate about teaching and has maintained a private piano studio in Seattle for six years, instructing students of all ages and skill levels. She hosted a livestream student recital via YouTube at Resonance Events in Bellevue, WA, and her students have excelled in competitions such as the Pacific NW Piano Competition, PAFE Festival, Seattle Sonafest, and Seattle Youth Music Festival, earning silver, bronze, and honorable mention awards. She is an active member of the Seattle Music Teachers Association (SMTA), Washington State Music Association, and Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). She also worked annually as a monitor for judges at the MTNA competition in South New Jersey (2022–2024).