Hometown: NingXia, China

Eighteen-year-old Esther Jiahe Zhang studies with acclaimed cellist Clive Greensmith at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles.  

Jiahe was born in Ningxia, China, and at the age of eight, she began to take cello lessons under the guidance of Mu Zhu in Beijing. In 2017, she became a student at Central Conservatory Of Music Middle School. As a senior student, Jiahe has attended masterclasses and workshops held by Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Jens Peter Maintz, Miklós Perényi, among others. 

Jiahe has participated as an active participant in several music festivals, such as Cello Akademie Rutesheim (2019, 2022) Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival (2022) Swiss International Music Academy (2022) She performed as a soloist in the final concert of the Qingdao Strings Festival, Zhuhai Strings Festival and 2022 Cello Akademie Rutesheim with Conductor Douglas Bostock and Southwest German Chamber Orchestra. 

After listening to her performance, Professor Jo Cole, director of string music at the Royal Conservatory of Music, commented: “An assured and confident performance full of energy and incisive articulation, which shows a sense of soloistic confidence, an engaging performance of great technical proficiency and spirit.”