Although she’s headquartered in Baltimore, Susan Zhang isn’t there much these days.
The 2006 John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School graduate spends her time on the road with Nick Luby performing in The Concert Truck. The two musicians will be close to Zhang’s hometown starting next week with performances in Newberry, S.C. and in October at Hilton Head, S.C.
“The original idea came from my partner Nick Luby,” said Zhang.
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The duo converted a 16-foot box truck into a “mobile concert hall” complete with a stage for a small piano and its player. The idea is to take classical music to people where they are instead of having people come to them.
They travel the country performing in parks, schools, libraries and other venues.
They set up in a public space and people often come to them when they start playing, she said.
Sometimes the experience is tied to a guest artist stint with an orchestra or a university.
Zhang started playing the piano at the age of 6 and made her professional debut with the Augusta Symphony Orchestra when she was 12 after winning a youth symphony competition.
After graduating from Davidson, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of South Carolina, her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, her Graduate Certificate in Performance at the University of South Carolina. She’s also a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory.
“I was pursuing my doctoral degree, but I kept putting if off,” she said.
While life in academia is a great job, Zhang is doing what she enjoys — performing and bringing music to people.
She’s returned to the area to play in different events including a concert with the Aiken Civic Orchestra in 2019 and a benefit for the Jessye Norman School of the Arts in 2018.
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The Concert Truck began in 2016 and has won multiple awards, according to The Concert Truck website.
The Concert Truck will be in Newberry, S.C, about 90 minutes from Augusta, Sept. 26 through Oct. 1 Luby and Zhang will be performing in various sites including 3 p.m. Sunday at Vance Park in Clinton, S.C.; 5 p.m. Tuesday at Newberry County Library and 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in downtown Newberry.
They return to South Carolina Oct. 14 for the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.
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Earlier this year, they had a weeklong residency at the University of South Carolina, where the truck was launched.
Zhang said they would love to bring The Concert Truck to the Augusta area if the opportunity presented itself. .
To learn more about The Concert Truck, visit theconcerttruck.org.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com.
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