Sam Zhan completed his Masters of Music, studying with Natalia Ricci at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of Sydney. He also previously pursued a Bachelor of Music (Piano Performance) degree under the tutelage of Daniel Herscovitch. As a classically trained pianist, he has performed extensively as a soloist, collaborative pianist and chamber musician.
In September 2022, he was a part of "Encuentros Espanoles"- a Spanish music festival celebrating the nexus of Spanish piano music and flamenco dance curated by his teacher Natalia Ricci, where they performed a world-premiere arrangement of de Falla's ballet El Sombrero de Tres Picos.
In 2023, he was awarded the Henderson Scholarship by the University which allowed him to further his study abroad and participated in the Valencia International Performing Arts Festival (Spain) and the Academia internacional de música da Madeira (Portugal) to work with renowned pedagogues and pianists from around the world including Boris Slutsky (Yale University), Pavel Nersessian (Moscow Conservatory and Boston University), Antonio Pompa-Baldi (Cleveland Institute of Music), Chun-Chieh Yen (National Taiwan Normal University), Marta Zabaleta (Musikene, the Higher Academy of Music of the Basque Country) and Robert Andres (Madeira Conservatory). He was also awarded the David and Nhilla Dumbrell Scholarship in the 2023 academic year.
My own teaching philosophy gleans on the diverse training I've received, drawing ideas from various schools of piano pedagogy: Russian, German and Hungarian. My approach in teaching is one that encourages a greater awareness of the connection between body movement and the quality of sound, as well as the cultivation of efficient and mindful practice habits. A major focus of my teaching is to motivate my students to develop a sense of self-inquiry to explore their own imaginative potential in music by fostering a strong technical foundation and a greater sense of confidence at the piano.
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