A classic double Grammy

The 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles on Feb 5. Zhang's recording, Letters for the Future released by Deutsche Grammophon, with the classical string trio Time For Three and the Philadelphia Orchestra, took home the awards in the "best contemporary classical composition" (specifically Contact by composer Kevin Puts) and "best classical instrumental solo" categories.

Time For Three is a classically trained, genre-crossing string trio comprising violinist Nick Kendall, double-bassist Ranaan Meyer and violinist Charles Yang. All three are also vocalists.

"Three months ago, when I learned about the nomination, I felt honored, but never expected to win the awards," says Zhang, who is also principal guest conductor of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conductor emeritus of Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, following her tenure as their music director from 2009 to 2016. "The awards remind me of the rehearsals and recording of the album and, most importantly, inspire me to move forward. We worked very hard every day, and all the musicians deserve a big applause."