Meet Yiming Zhang | Keyboardist & Music Producer & Drummer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yiming Zhang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yiming, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am from China. I have loved music since I was a child. I learned to play the piano, guitar, and drums, but at the beginning I didn’t intend to make music my career. I didn’t study music in college, and there was even a long I stayed away from music for a while, but my piano teacher discovered my talent and shining points. He always encouraged me to keep learning music and creating music, so I took the songs I wrote to participate in the competition and won the first prize , as I recall the bonus was Twenty thousand dollars, this is undoubtedly a great encouragement to me. So I used the money to apply for a master program in music production at the Leeds College of Music in the UK. After graduating, I came to the United States, and I continued to study at the Musicians Institute. After graduation, I stayed at the school and became a teaching assistant. I am now a keyboard player, drummer, music producer, and I have met a lot of amazing musicians in Los Angeles, working with them, it is really amazing!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am from China. I have loved music since I was a child. I learned to play the piano, guitar, and drums, but at the beginning I didn’t intend to make music my career. I didn’t study music in college, and there was even a long I stayed away from music for a while, but my piano teacher discovered my talent and shining points. He always encouraged me to keep learning music and creating music, so I took the songs I wrote to participate in the competition and won the first prize , as I recall the bonus was Twenty thousand dollars, this is undoubtedly a great encouragement to me. So I used the money to apply for a master program in music production at the Leeds College of Music in the UK. After graduating, I came to the United States, and I continued to study at the Musicians Institute. After graduation, I stayed at the school and became a teaching assistant. I am now a keyboard player, drummer, music producer, and I have met a lot of amazing musicians in Los Angeles, working with them, it is really amazing!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I will definitely take them to Korea Town to eat Korean BBQ, and I will go there almost once or twice a week. I love barbecue so much, and going with friends will make people feel very relaxed! In addition, I will take them to Fonda Theater – my favorite live house to see a music performance! In Los Angeles, there are really too many excellent musicians, and if they have a performance, they will come here 100%, so Los Angeles is really a paradise for music lovers!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I really want to shoutout to my keyboard teacher Evet Park Lee at Musicians Institute. She is the first teacher I met after I came to the United States. I have studied with her for more than a year. Although it is not a long time, she has taught me a lot both technically and psychologically. When I was a student, she once shared with me in class that when she was also a student, she practiced until two o’clock in the morning before going home, and there would be band rehearsals from six o’clock in the evening to midnight every day , which deeply inspired me, because a person as excellent as her is still working so hard, so I can’t fall behind. Her spirit still haunts me to this day.

Instagram: sevesizzzz

Image Credits
Randall Y. Baker