featured recordings
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| composer |
adrian started playing the piano at the age of 5, embarking on his composing journey at the age of 12; currently, he learns composition from professor wang lu of brown university. presently a 12th grade student at jericho high school in new york, adrian zhang has achieved significant acclaim in music. in 2025, adrian was accepted into the highly selective young artists program of boston university’s tanglewood institute. he has also earned recognition in national and international composing competitions, including the ascap foundation morton gould young composer awards, the tribeca new music young composer competition, the national federation of music clubs composing competition, and the national young composers challenge. adrian aims to compose avant-garde music that explores both classical and modern styles, creating captivating soundscapes in which contrasting elements guide the listener through shifting perspectives.
Finalist, ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (2024): memories
Emerging Composers Prize, Tribeca New Music Young Composer Competition (2023): War
2nd Place, National Federation of Music Clubs Composition Competition Class 3 (2025): meltdown I
Finalist, National Young Composers Challenge (2023): War
Finalist, The American Prize Charles Ives Award in Composition, Instrumental Chamber Music High School Division (2025): War, memories
National Finalist, Music Teachers National Association Composition Competition Junior Division (2024): War
Eastern Division Honorable Mention, MTNA Composition Competition Senior Division (2025): meltdown I
New York State Winner, MTNA Composition Composition Junior Division (2022): Quest
some featured works from over the last few years, sorted by most recent
three three two is a play on the phrase itself; for example, the first and second movements are in ternary form, while the third and final movement is in binary form. throughout the piece, and especially in the first movement, san/san/er, the three-three-two ostinato is a significant motif. 3'32", the pointillistic second movement, aims to last that exact duration. lastly, TWO!!! ...and one is a celebratory final movement that uses the ideas of movements one and two, using the first half of the three-three-two rhythm and having the duration stated in the title.
this summer, at boston university's tanglewood institute summer camp, our composing program was given a week to write for orchestra. the concept of this piece was that i wanted to depict a scene in which a drone camera swoops down to reveal a bustling, underground cyberpunk city. the listener is back at the top, escaping from the dystopia that is a cyberpunk world, free again.
the word "meltdown" has multiple unique meanings in different contexts. this piece explores one such meaning — that of an environmental meltdown. images of an arctic scene slowly, then explosively progress into crashing icebergs and the cutting of trees as the piece progresses.
mvt. I: conflict symbolizes the violence of warfare. mvt. II: desolation starts with slow chords interrupted by unrelated fragments. mvt. III: death is announced by the tritone of the piano ringing forth like the bell of death.
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