At just 17 years old, Nathaniel Zhang has already achieved what many pianists spend a lifetime pursuing. The young virtuoso, currently studying at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Center City, has mastered some of Chopin's most challenging compositions and will showcase his remarkable talent in an all-Chopin concert on March 23 at Settlement Music School in Germantown.

It is hard to believe that Zhang is a teenager. A native of Folsom, California, he performed in Carnegie Hall at 8 and had his first solo recital at 10. He made his orchestral debut with the Florence Conservatory Orchestra in Italy. He was the 2023 National Young Arts Finalist winner as well as a medalist at the 2023 Hilton Head International Piano Competition. He performed with the Seattle Symphony and Auburn Symphony in the 2022-23 season as the grand prize winner of their Young Artists competition. He was also featured on ABC's "World News Tonight with David Muir."

The March 23 event is sponsored by the Polish Heritage Society of Philadelphia. Its co-chair, Paul Krzywicki, a Wyndmoor resident and retired tuba player for the Philadelphia Orchestra said he heard Zhang play at the Miami Chopin Piano competition, where he received the prize for the Best Concerto.

Despite the avalanche of accolades, Zhang seems quite modest and unaffected by the spotlight.

"I have been blessed to have been surrounded by great people throughout my life," Zhang said last week. "Obviously, my parents have instilled many important qualities in me, such as discipline, hard work and perseverance. I am also blessed to have had many great teachers, but the one who has had the greatest impact on my artistry is Sasha Starcevich, whom I studied with since I was 10. He showed me how beautiful music can be."

Interestingly, neither of Zhang's parents, who were both born and raised in Shanghai, China, is a musician. They both studied electrical engineering in college. His father is a software engineer, and his mother has worked for the state of California. Nathaniel has a brother, Caleb, 16, who plays the cello and piano.

When Zhang takes the stage later this month in Germantown, he will be performing the music of a composer who just may be his favorite.

Frederic Chopin, a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era, is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers for the piano. He was known for his expressive depth and innovative use of harmony.

"Much of what I love about Chopin is his beautiful melodies and unique melancholy," Zhang said. "However, given the amount of repertoire I've played by him, I've gained even more admiration for his music. I admire the amount of creativity and expression Chopin created within a classical structure and the variety in his compositional style. He revolutionized piano technique."

The National Chopin Piano Competition was instrumental in fostering Zhang's love of the composer. Zhang won third prize in the 11th annual competition in January. But it was watching earlier performances by pianist Yundi Li that inspired the teenage musician. Competing in the music contest "has been one of my dreams since watching the 2015 competition. The experience of preparing and performing all this Chopin repertoire was surreal," Zhang said.

For a teenage soloist playing with a major symphony orchestra behind him, as Zhang has done, there must be considerable pressure.

"Being a soloist with an orchestra is a lot of fun!" Zhang insists. "There is obviously some intrinsic pressure when playing with so many other people, so I have to adjust how I play. I have to make sure my sound projects more, and I have to adjust my timing to make sure the orchestra can follow me."

Zhang has become a fan of Philadelphia.

"One of our orientation leaders at Curtis remarked that Philadelphia is a 'human-sized New York,' and I think that's fitting," Zhang said. "It doesn't lack for things to do, yet it's filled with history and has an intimate feel. I love big cities, so Philadelphia is the ideal place for me now."

The concert is at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 23, at Settlement Music School, 6128 Germantown Ave. For more information, call 215-627-1391 or email dziecko2@comcast.net.