Zhang Zhang

I have always been interested to explore different musical languages. Having spend most of my life learning the violin, I think it would be a shame to limit my musical experience by focusing mainly on standard repertoire. I have a Jazz/Rock/Gypsy band with whom I played weekly gigs in a bar called La Rascasse in Monaco, right inside the Formula One racing circuit. I am at present acting assistant concertmaster in Europe's second oldest orchestra, I work with Ensemble Explorations of Belgium where we perform and record on gut strings for Harmonia Mundi. I am also part of a string quartet with principle players from my orchestra. I am the founder and director of a monthly chamber music concert series in Monaco. Current projects includes recording Olivier Messiaen's Quartet for The End of Time in November and a concert of Swing music with my band. My ideal is to be a musician whose instrument happens to be the violin. To be playing good music, not just good violin.

If I had to take only two scores with me on some island. It would be Bach Solo Sonatas and Partitas and a Jazz real book, with the hope that there will be someone on the island to jam with.