Shawn Zheng is a Washington, D.C.-based hornist who enjoys a diverse career as an orchestral and chamber musician, soloist, and educator.

 

He was a winner of the National YoungArts Foundation competition, prizewinner of the Nashville Symphony Concerto Competition, Curb Youth Symphony Competition, and Southeast Horn Symposium Competition, and made his solo concerto debut with “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band as the winner of its high school concerto competition. He has also served as a member of "The President's Own" since 2023. He has performed as a guest musician with the Houston Symphony, Houston Ballet, Richmond Symphony, and Washington National Opera, among others. His broad musical interests have brought him to perform in Rice’s new music ensemble Hear&Now, as part of the Ziering-Conlon Initiative for Recovered Voices, featuring music by Jewish composers whose lives and careers were disrupted during the years of the Nazi regime, and as a recurring guest artist with the Colburn Chamber Music Society. In previous summers, he was a Fellow of the National Orchestral Institute, the Sarasota Music Festival, and the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, performing in Carnegie Hall, at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and across Latin America.

 

A devoted educator and proponent of community engagement, he has taught masterclasses at Western Michigan University, for the Colburn Community School and Jumpstart Young Musician’s Program, and given numerous clinics across the country. He was also a contributor to Rice University’s Just For U Music Program, a student-led initiative that produces educational performances for Houston students. During the pandemic, Shawn founded and directed the Hanszen Chamber Music Festival, a genre-spanning concert series that sought to create valuable concertizing experiences for both performers and audiences. 

 

He received his Bachelor of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, and received the post-graduate Professional Studies degree from The Colburn School. He also received training at Vanderbilt University’s Blair Academy, and is an alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy.

 

 

The information presented in this website has been prepared solely by the author and neither "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, the U.S. Marine Corps, nor any other component of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government have endorsed this material.

 

 

Last updated on 7 Oct 2024