Eric Zhang is a dual major in music performance and supply chain management at UMSL. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

The audience sat perfectly still, many of its members leaning forward in their seats as they tried to catch each sound that arose from the grand piano while Eric Zhang’s fingers danced up, down and all around the keys.

There were more than 200 people in attendance that September evening in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center for the University of Missouri–St. Louis’ annual Founders Celebration. Before the presentation of awards for Distinguished Alumni and recognitions of impactful donors, they were treated to a performance by Zhang, an UMSL senior with a dual major in supply chain management and music performance.

He played composer Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, his hands fluttering back and forth across the keyboard as his right foot pumped up and down on the pedal. His back stiffened a bit as he forcefully delivered the final few notes, then stood up to face the audience. He took a bow as applause filled room.

Zhang relishes moments like that.

“This is what music is for,” he said. “We’re not just playing for walls. We’ve got to play for people. I’m very happy to do so. I love sharing with other people what I learned and the beauty of music and how it could be used in almost any situation.”

But he never would have imagined being invited to play on that stage in that setting when he first wandered into the Music Building two years earlier.

Though he had been playing the piano since he was 5 years old after first discovering the instrument at a friend’s house and being instantly enamored with how it worked, Zhang had never considered music as anything more than a hobby in the context of college.

He’d started out studying computer engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology after graduating from Marquette High School in 2021. After almost two years in Rolla, Missouri, he decided that the major and the school weren’t the right fit, so he opted to transfer to UMSL, preferring to be closer to home and in a more urban setting.

Zhang’s intention had been to study supply chain management or, if that didn’t work out, fintech or information systems and technology, in the Ed G. Smith College of Business. He figured any of them would help him unlock potential job opportunities. He didn’t even know UMSL offered a music major.

Early in his first semester, Zhang decided to explore the music options that were available. He discovered the Music Building along Natural Bridge Road while searching Google Maps, and he dropped by to see if it could be a place to hang out and meet some other students.

Eric Zhang performs for visitors to Alla Voskoboynikova’s office during an open house to mark the opening of the Creative Arts Building on Oct. 21. (Photo courtesy of Alla Voskoboynikova)

“Everyone was really welcoming,” he said. “The instruments were quite good, so I kind of stayed there.”

Zhang would drop by in between classes to play one of the pianos. Alla Voskoboynikova, a teaching professor of piano and the director of keyboard studies in the Department of Music, recalled hearing him before they ever met.

“We had practice rooms upstairs, and occasionally I’d hear someone playing – sounding quite impressive,” Voskoboynikova recalled. “I would ask my students, ‘Do you know who’s practicing up there?’ Because whoever it was, they were playing repertoire clearly different from what my students were working on.”

Eventually, Zhang did come to one of Voskoboynikova’s piano studio classes open to all students and introduced himself. When she heard him play, she could hear his talent and sense his passion for music.

Voskoboynikova was trained in the Russian musical tradition, and Zhang said he was particularly interested in learning more about it and its composers, so he was keen on the idea of studying with her. Once they started working together, it didn’t take long for Zhang to decide to add music performance as a second major, and he has thrown himself into the pursuit.

Though he’d been playing from a young age, he still has had a lot to learn, including how to play alongside other musicians and how to add his own touch to a piece on top of the notes as they are written. But Voskoboynikova has been impressed with his drive.

“He has that desire,” she said. “He’s eager to take on something truly challenging, something iconic, the kind of piece the whole world recognizes. His capacity is incredible.”

Eric Zhang performs in a recital in the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Theater. (Photo courtesy of Alla Voskoboynikova)

Last fall, he entered UMSL’s Young Artist Competition. With Voskoboynikova accompanying, he performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3.

“It’s a very big, very serious work,” Zhang said. “I also played a lot of Beethoven when I was younger, so I think I had that advantage. I really think that that was one of my best performances. I really expressed what Beethoven felt and what I felt.”

The judges were moved enough by how Zhang played to name him one of the competition’s two winners, along with clarinetist Jake Philipak, in the college division. He also earned the privilege of performing with the UMSL Symphony Orchestra at a special concert last March.

Zhang has been continuing his studies in supply chain management alongside his musical pursuits. He is on track to finish that degree in the spring, though he’ll still have more time to compete his bachelor’s in music performance.

He admits it can be challenging to juggle both pursuits.

“You just have to work smart,” Zhang said. “You have to work hard too, but there are ways to be more efficient. It’s not always about practicing eight hours or studying that long a day. You can. That’s not harmful, but you could burn out, and you probably won’t have that much time.”

In addition to his coursework, Zhang has had internships with businesses such as Patty’s Cheesecakes and Real Document Solutions through the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center’s Anchor Accelerator Program. In the summer of 2024, he also interned at Enterprise Fleet Management.

Eric Zhang stands up and prepares to take a bow after his performance at the 2025 Founders Celebration on Sept. 26. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

Ed G. Smith College of Business Dean Shu Schiller has gotten to know Zhang since last spring when he performed at the college’s annual end-of-the-academic-year celebration. She marvels at his multiple aptitudes.

“It’s a rare talent to excel with both supply chain and music majors, to master quantitative science and performing art,” she said. “It’s truly combining left brain and right brain, and it’s a beautiful way to connect your competencies, forming creative and technical synergy.”

More and more, people are getting to see Zhang’s artistic side on display. In addition to performing at Founders, he also was featured to play in Voskoboynikova’s new piano studio during the open house to mark the opening of UMSL’s Creative Arts Building.

He’s currently preparing three challenging pieces for the Missouri Music Teachers Association’s 2025 auditions in Springfield, Missouri. Voskoboynikova said the event will give him a chance to measure his growth against college students from other universities around the state.

There will be more performances in the spring, and Schiller has confirmed he’ll again be playing at the end-of-the-year celebration for the College of Business again in May.

Zhang is still unsure whether supply chain or the piano will win out when it comes to choosing a career path after UMSL. It’s possible he could figure out a way to continue both pursuits – maybe giving piano performances on the side or teaching –  but he’s in no hurry to make any decisions.

“Wherever life places me – I don’t like to necessarily force things,” he said. “If I see fit here, if I see fit here, but overall, my goal is to be able to do the best in both fields.”