Yucheng “Alex” Zhang is actively involved as both a composer and arranger. Alex earned his DMA composition degree at Texas Tech University and MM in music theory and composition at the University of Northern Colorado. Before joining East Tennessee State University, Alex was a lecturer in composition-theory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
You recently became Assistant Professor at ETSU. What excites you for your next chapter?
There are several aspects that make me very excited about this new chapter of my professional career. The Department of Music at East Tennessee State University has been experiencing rapid growth, with a record-breaking enrollment of 200 music majors and 70 incoming freshman music students. This year also marks the launch of our newly established Master of Music degree program, which will welcome 12 incoming graduate students. These milestones affirm that I am working at an institution that is on a strong upward trajectory, especially when compared with the broader landscape of academia and music nationwide.
Different from my previous position at the University of Illinois, the music theory courses I teach here at ETSU have much smaller class sizes, averaging around 15 students. This allows me to get to know each student on a more personal level, fostering stronger relationships, facilitating more effective teaching, and enabling more accurate assessment of their progress. I have greatly enjoyed the benefits of these smaller classes and have developed excellent connection with my students during my past year as an adjunct. I am confident that the students will be excited to see me return, as I am equally eager to teach many of them again in my sophomore-level theory courses.
From a compositional standpoint, I am developing several new initiatives, including a weekly composition studio class and a dedicated composition studio recital—something ETSU has not hosted in decades. I am also in the process of reviving the new music ensemble, hopefully gaining enough interests. Additionally, I am brainstorming strategies for recruitment for both undergrad and graduate students in composition concentration. All of these exciting developments and ventures make me so grateful for the opportunity to start as an Assistant Professor at ETSU.
Before this position, you have had short-term appointments at ETSU and UIUC. What did your teaching load look like, and what other duties were expected?
University of Illinois was a vastly different position, but an incredibly rewarding one. I was tasked with teaching freshman-level music theory and musicianship courses, with enrollments of over 120 students per class, and I taught the big lectures in an auditorium. In addition, I coordinated and managed 7 teaching assistants, for whom I remain very grateful. I also had the privilege of teaching a graduate and upper-level undergraduate course in Popular Music Analysis, which was being offered at the University of Illinois for the very first time. It was my first opportunity to teach the subject, so I had to build the course entirely from scratch—designing the syllabus, curriculum, and evaluations, while also engaging with current scholarly discourse in popular music theory. It was challenging yet rewarding, and intellectually enriching experience, and I learned a lot in the process.
Looking back, having just completed my DMA degree and stepping into a full-time gig at the University of Illinois still feels almost surreal. I am grateful for this opportunity and miss my colleagues, teaching assistants, students, and friends there. This experience has certainly prepared me for the next stages of my academic career.
The academic job hunt can be an arduous process. What support and good advice did you get from mentors, recommenders, and peers?
I feel very fortunate to have had the support of several mentors, colleagues, and friends throughout the job search process. I learned a great deal from each stage of the application cycle, and the guidance I received was invaluable. One of the first lessons I learned was the difference between a CV and a résumé. Thanks to mentors and colleagues who generously shared their own materials with me, I was able to refine my CV through multiple rounds of revision, editing, and proofreading. The same level of reviews and feedback went into my cover letters, various teaching statements, and composition scores.
Among my application materials, the most impactful turned out to be my teaching video. While serving as a graduate teaching assistant at Texas Tech University, my students were incredibly cooperative and supportive during the recording of my teaching demonstration. I have been told that this video was one of the most significant factors in my hiring at the University of Illinois.
When it came to interviews, I especially benefited from the mentorship of my composition teacher, Dr. Jennifer Jolley. She generously shared advice and strategies through many phone calls and Zoom conversations, offering both practical insights and reassurance that helped calm my nerves. She even guided me through negotiation strategies once interviews and job offers came along.
The entire process of academic job-searching and applying became a collaborative effort with my mentors, colleagues, and friends. I am very grateful for their encouragement and support, which continue to shape my academic journey today.
You recently joined the composer collective “Consonance.” Tell me about your involvement and the group’s upcoming plans.
CNSNC (Consonance) is an amazing composer collective that is originally based in New Jersey, founded in 2019 by a group of former Peabody Institute composition students to present and promote contemporary music to new audiences. The mission is to connect with a new generation of listeners through interactive concerts, multimedia collaborations, and partnerships with innovative musicians and nontraditional venues. Emphasizing accessibility and community, this collective aim to foster dialogue and engagement, particularly with audiences not traditionally served by contemporary music.
My close friend, Zach Gulaboff Davis, is one of the founding members of the collective, and he introduced me to the other composers around 2020–2021: Gu Wei, Bobby Ge, Soyoona Kim, and Daniel Despins (who is currently based in Asheville, NC—very close to East Tennessee). They are all outstanding young composers, close to my age, and over time we developed a great friendship. I formally joined the collective in late 2023. I am grateful that the group recognized the value I could bring, particularly in offering a perspective from within music academia. This has created unique opportunities, such as presenting at a composition studio forum at the University of Illinois, collaborating with faculty at East Tennessee State University, and contributing to other future projects.
My recent involvement includes writing a percussion ensemble work for the Kinetic Quartet, a group of Peabody-trained percussionists. Alongside several of my colleagues in the collective, I composed a piece for their recent album, Between Motion and Stillness, which has now been released on major streaming platforms. I was delighted that this project became my first compositional collaboration within Consonance Collective.
Currently, I am fortunate to be leading our next project: a series of duets for saxophone and clarinet, written for the Nexus Duo, which features ETSU faculty members Dr. Brian Rodesch (saxophonist) and Dr. Lisa Perry (clarinetist). Several composers have already completed (or are close to completing) their works, and the Nexus Duo will be performing these pieces potentially at a number of venues, including the Navy Band Saxophone Symposium, the CMS Southern Conference, the NASA Biennial Conference at The Ohio State University, and ClarinetFest 2026 in Incheon, South Korea.
Overall, I feel very fortunate to be a part of this amazing composer collective, and I look forward to continuing my involvement, especially in fostering further connections and potential collaborations with the ETSU Department of Music.
What do you like to do outside of music?
Outside of music, I have a variety of hobbies and interests. I am a passionate sports fan, particularly of racquet sports such as tennis, table tennis, and pickleball. Since moving to East Tennessee, I have been regularly playing pickleball weekly at the Bristol Sportsplex, a nationally recognized pickleball venue in this region.
I also have a strong interest in coffee and roast my own beans—a hobby I began during the COVID-19 pandemic while in Texas. During that time, I even sold several batches of my roasted coffee to friends and professors. And yes, I do have a collection of coffee equipment, including a pour-over setup, AeroPress, an espresso machine, and several coffee grinders. My office in the ETSU music building is often filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee (I roasted, of course), much to the delight of passing students and colleagues.
Additionally, I enjoy hiking and landscape photography. Having lived in Colorado, I was an avid hiker and nature enthusiast. While I was less active in these pursuits during my time in Texas and Illinois, since moving to East Tennessee, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, I am eager to resume hiking and photographing the local landscapes whenever time allows.
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Alex! Readers, you can hear some of Alex’s work below:
