Victoria Zhang is a harpist based in New York City. She has a deep interest for all genres and is especially passionate about exploring ideas to push musical boundaries—whether that means collaborating on new works or experimenting with cross-disciplinary approaches to present music in engaging and exciting ways.

Her journey with the harp began in an unusual (and very 21st-century) way: on a whim, she ordered a toy lap harp from Amazon at age 20. One thing led to another, and over time the harps got bigger — along with her commitment for the instrument. Since then, Victoria has performed as a freelancer with a variety of orchestras around New York City, including Camerata Notturna, Litha Symphony, World Civic Orchestra, The Rendez-Vous Orchestra, and Riverside Orchestra. She has also served as a consultant to composers seeking to write music that both is playable for the harp and showcases the instrument’s unique strengths. In addition to her orchestral work, Victoria is often a regular at private events, from engagements to fundraisers and everything in between.

Before shifting the focus to harp, Victoria played the violin for years and was a member of groups such as the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus, the New York Repertory Orchestra, the Michigan Youth Symphony, and the Wuhan Youth Symphony. While in college, she founded the Symphonic Student Association (SSA) @ UC San Diego—the university’s first student group dedicated to classical music—and served as its president all four years. Through SSA, she organized concerts, workshops, and social events, creating a space for students interested in playing or enjoying classical music where one hadn’t existed before.

Victoria has B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Cognitive Science from UC San Diego, as well as a M.S. from Cornell Tech. She currently studies under Susan Jolles, longtime Manhattan School of Music faculty and former associate harpist of the Metropolitan Opera.