Accomplished violinist Yang Zeng performs a free concert on Sunday, October 27 at 2 pm.

We are thrilled to welcome back Zeng, a distinguished violinist from Kent State University. Zeng has participated in the Kent Blossom Music Festival and has also collaborated with the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra. At Kent State he is a member of several chamber music ensembles which are coached by members of the Miami String Quartet. This year he performed Dvorak Violin Concerto and Beethoven triple concerto with the KSU Orchestra, and he was awarded the Leopold Sipe Memorial Award for Excellence in Music Performance.

Yang Zeng was born in Yunnan China where he began studying the violin at the age of 6. From August 1999 to July 2010, he studied at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music with Jiyang Zhao, Qinglin Zhu, Qing Zheng and Shisheng Zheng. He also studied viola with Hancheng Lan and Xidi Shen. He has performed at the Shanghai Concert Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and Shanghai Grand Theater, as well as the Solon Center for the Arts in Ohio.

Yang has played with the Shanghai Conservatory Orchestra and the Shanghai Sinfonietta. He was part of the China-Germany Young Euro Classic Festival Orchestra in 2010, performing at the Nanjing Arts Institute Concert Hall and the Shanghai Concert Hall.

In August 2010, he came to Kent State University to pursue his undergraduate degree in Music Performance. He is currently a student of Cathy Meng Robinson and Jung-Min Amy Lee, and has also studied violin with Benny Kim while at Kent State.

In 2011, 2012, and 2013, Yang participated in the Kent Blossom Music Festival where he performed chamber music and also collaborated with the musicians of the Cleveland Orchestra.  At Kent State, he is a member of several chamber music ensembles which are coached by members of the Miami String Quartet.  Last February March,Yang performed the Dvorak Violin Concerto and the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the KSU Orchestra.

In 2013,Yang was awarded the Leopold Sipe Memorial Award for Excellence in Music Performance and he won the String Division of the Tuesday Musical Competition. Yang is currently a member of the Akron Symphony Orchestra, principle second violin of the Mansfield Symphony and the concertmaster of KSU Orchestra.

As an artist, he was awarded First Prize in the Chinese youth calligraphy and painting competition in 1997 and 1998.