About me — Danying Zhang
Flutiste/Flute Teacher|Founder of YX Culture| Music Concert Organizer |Investor| Content Creator
Introduction: “What life story behind the melodies that move your heart?”
Hello everyone, I am Danying, a flutiste, an educator, and an “entrepreneur.” My greatest interest is learning, and my life’s goal is to improve myself, And always achieve a better version of myself. You never know your limits, so don’t overthink it, just do it!
I have a dream for my entrepreneurial journey: I hope to establish a management company for classical musicians and then form a symphony orchestra. (Isn’t that ambitious?) The current employment situation for classical musicians is severe; many talented and soulful musicians have no place in symphony orchestras, no positions as teachers in academies, and independent performers struggle to find good opportunities, even a simple performance is very difficult. As a fellow musician, I deeply empathize, so I want to do something about it.
This is the problem I want to solve.
I believe the digital realm is the future of classical music.
Me
I was born into a musical family in China, where everyone except my grandfather was involved in music as performers, creators, and educators. As a child, my family never talked about their professions, and I never deliberately asked about them. I only vaguely remembered that friends would often visit our home, and as they chatted, singing and piano playing would start. It wasn’t until I grew up and saw my grandmother’s trophies and medals and that silver flute in the cabinet that I realized the professions of my grandmother and mother. As a child, I thought every family was like this. It wasn’t until I grew up that I realized how lucky I was. Kids are usually restless, and in the fourth grade, because I was too hyperactive, my teachers often called my parents. Eventually, my mother took out the silver flute that had been collecting dust in the cabinet as a “reward” for me. Thinking about it now, did I connect with the flute at nine? No, it was destined to be part of my life from birth.
Childhood Dreams
As a child, I always thought the flute wasn’t as cool as the clarinet or the oboe and didn’t like it much. The only time I found it beautiful was during the annual Vienna New Year’s Concert that my whole family watched together. I always remembered the gleam in my mother’s and grandmother’s eyes. That’s when my initial dream formed: to become the principal flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic and make my mother and grandmother proud. My grandmother passed away when I was in high school, and although I haven’t achieved that goal yet, but the flute has shaped who I am today.
Before graduating from sixth grade, I was admitted to a local music academy’s attached middle school with the highest professional score. I smoothly transitioned into the middle school stage.
Struggle
However, certain events changed the course of my life. I still remember my mother’s expression when I came out to her. The school was abuzz with the fact that I am lesbian, I was ostracized by classmates, and gossiped by teachers, and my family didn’t understand. During middle school, I had depression due to various pressures and became increasingly introverted and quiet. Listening to different types of music and reading articles became my main support during that time.
Eventually, I slowly came out of it, but I chose not to graduate from that school. Before turning 18, I dropped out and stopped playing the flute for about two years. I chose to work, then re-enrolled in a regular high school and completed my high school education.
I Want to Go to Paris
After graduating from high school, I didn’t immediately apply for college but chose to work while studying composition. Until one day, by chance, I heard a flute recording again, an early recording of Pahud playing Khachaturian. Such wonderful music, I wished I could be on stage too, with an orchestra accompanying me. This reawakened my long-buried dream. Then I decided to go to Beijing to find a teacher to study flute. I remember clearly that my teacher was not employed by any institution at the time.
She asked me: “why I wanted to study with her.”
I said, “I want to go to Paris to play the flute.”
My mother thought I was crazy. After some time of accumulation, I started the university application process. Because the interview for my target school was scheduled later, my teacher suggested I try the interview for the National University of Singapore as one of her other students was also interviewing there. That year, I entered the National University of Singapore with a full scholarship.
Unexpectedly Entering Top School
I was very hardworking, often practicing late into the night, always feeling I had a huge gap to close due to the time I missed in high school. In my senior year’s first semester, I received offers from the Manhattan School of Music and the University of North Texas. This time, I entered the University of North Texas with a scholarship again. However, the long-term stress and physical exhaustion led to health issues, and I had to take a temporary leave and return to China. During the rest period, I thought a lot about what I really wanted and the kind of sound I aimed for. To keep improving and becoming better, what was I missing? In university, I always thought it was just about continuous practice. Later, I realized that to play the flute well, one needs a lot more “non-professional” knowledge, including culture, history, languages, and, most importantly, life experiences and time. Art is the product of all these accumulations. During that somewhat directionless and lost period, my teacher in Beijing invited me to perform at a flute art week, and there I met my future teacher in France.
Life in Paris
When I chose a new direction, it was like breaking and reshaping myself. Life is never short of challenges. That period in Paris was fulfilling. Besides having lessons with my idol, I also traveled to Germany and other countries, attending concerts, masterclasses, and exhibitions, hoping to become a better, more well-rounded person. Everything went smoothly at first, enjoying the rich artistic atmosphere. In the first year, I achieved the top professional ranking and studied with the professor I admired. However, a phone call from home disrupted everything. The year before Covid-19, my mother incurred huge debts from a failed investment. She repeatedly called, telling me she couldn’t support my studies, and I sensed her helplessness. Honestly, during that time, I couldn’t find joy in playing the flute. After completing my master’s degree in the second year, I decided to return to China.
Turning Point in Life
When faced with major decisions, I usually ask myself one question: Will I regret this? If not, then do it. Just like when I chose to drop out at 17, my mother told me that one must take responsibility for their decisions. My parents divorced when I was very young, and I have almost no memory of my father since I was three. Even now, nearly 40 years old, we’ve met less than ten times. I lived with my mother, grandfather, and grandmother, who shouldered my living expenses. Later, my grandparents passed away one after another, leaving only my mother. This is why I always worked hard to get scholarships to reduce the burden on my family. For me, the flute could wait, but if I didn’t face the family difficulties with my mother, I would definitely regret it.
I cried a lot on the plane back to China . It tooks me ten years to fulfill the dream of going to Paris.
Selling My Instrument
Returning to China, the situation at home was worse than I expected, and the Covid-19 outbreak confined everyone. I started teaching but had no stable income, so I had to sell part of my instruments to pay off debts and cover living expenses. I still remember how miserable I felt. The night I sold my instrument, I walked around outside for a long time, crying. That instrument meant a lot to me, having accompanied me for ten years and witnessing my growth and love for music. It was also chosen by a teacher who had passed away, representing my connection to her.
Second Career
During that time, I developed a strong desire to make money. Can you imagine? An artist (laughs). My mother had friends in the stock industry, so a mentor introduced me to this new circle, and I became a trader. Initially, everything went well, and my income steadily increased, but the cost was staying up late every night. It was then that I got involved with virtual currencies, Defi, blockchain, and NFTs, and I became very optimistic about this field.
One winter, the stock market’s volatility showed me the dangers of the capital market. During that week, I experienced my first loss. Fortunately, I had accumulated enough capital to recover part of the loss. However, the long hours and screen time took a toll on my health, and I found it increasingly hard to cope. That was when I asked myself for the second time what I truly wanted.
Returning to the Flute, Continuing to Try
I began to focus more on my flute lessons, gradually building a base of online and offline students. At the same time, I started a self-media platform to spread and popularize flute playing knowledge. After some time, I began organizing student concerts and slowly identified gaps in classical music education and promotion. This was where my entrepreneurial journey started.
Life Choices Aren’t That Many
For my entrepreneurial dream, I hope to establish a management company for classical musicians and then form a symphony orchestra. (Isn’t that ambitious?) The current employment situation for classical musicians is severe; many talented and soulful musicians have no place in symphony orchestras, no positions as teachers in academies, and independent performers struggle to find good opportunities, even a simple performance is very difficult. As a fellow musician, I deeply empathize, so I want to do something about it.
This is the problem I want to solve. I believe the digital realm is the future of classical music.
Teacher and Salesperson
Does this sound unrelated to being a flute teacher? I believe the best way to understand the market is to work on the front lines, directly facing parents who love classical music and want their children to learn it. Their needs and reactions directly reflect the market. Last year, I founded my own company, YX CULTURES. As a founder with an arts background, running my own company was quite overwhelming. There were all sorts of trivial matters, and I knew nothing about finance and taxation. The company has been running for a year now, stumbling along the way, and there’s still a lot of knowledge and experience I need to catch up on.
Due to my previous investment experience, I have my eyes set on the promising fields of Defi and blockchain. Although these are very emerging industries, I have already taken the lead, putting my recordings on Opensea as NFTs (link here); if anyone likes it, I hope you support it. It was very challenging to record with just a $3000 instrument and a Zoom recorder, but it’s worth a listen). I will continue to record more works in different styles, not limited to any music genre, and put them online as NFTs. Additionally, flute teaching courses will be part of my online sharing content, to be launched on my YouTube channel.
Brainstorming
As a founder, I actively seek online and offline performance opportunities, expand my student base, and execute more projects. This has become a priority. I also hope for more opportunities to integrate my company into Defi, blockchain, and web3.0. The project I most want to achieve now is to hold a virtual flute audition concert. Does anyone have any ideas? I used to think my small business (big dream) had just started, and I was too shy to write and share it with everyone. But now I realize that sharing my experiences and every step of my entrepreneurial journey can inspire everyone who reads this, especially those on their entrepreneurial path. If it can encourage you and let you know that there are people like you striving, it would be very meaningful.
Join My Journey
To better communicate and meet more musicians and music enthusiasts, I have established a Discord community. I hope to bring together people who genuinely love music, regardless of nationality, age, gender, performance level, or profession. Let’s do something together: share music, life insights, stories, and more possibilities. Come on, the group needs interesting souls! Welcome to join!
I will continue to share my entrepreneurial plans, processes, and thoughts with you. I hope you can witness every step of my journey! if you would like , you could contact me at LinkedIn.
Art is an endless love for life and an unwavering pursuit of dreams. No matter where you are or what dreams you pursue, may we all embrace our true selves and bravely live our unique melodies.
A true artist is genuine and loves life!
Danying
P.S: All the best for your journey!
