Impassioned by their love for music, in 2016 pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang converted a 16-foot box truck into a fully functioning mobile concert hall, complete with lights, sound system, and piano. Since then, The Concert Truck has presented concerts across the country in city streets, music and arts festivals, schools, neighborhoods, parks… anywhere you can think to park a truck.

In addition to sharing original programming with local communities, The Concert Truck strengthens relationships  between arts organizations and the communities they serve.  The Concert Truck has partnered with the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera, Aspen Music Festival & School, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Southeastern Piano Festival, Piano Cleveland, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and Dallas Symphony Orchestra to share music and build new audiences with their local communities and has featured guest artists such as James Ehnes, Lawrence Brownlee, Shaun Martin, and Jerome Lowenthal.

The Concert Truck created an online children’s show in partnership with the Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival that has been presented to over 55,000 students in North Carolina schools. The Concert Truck has also worked with major music institutions such as Rice University and New World Symphony to mentor young artists in community engagement and entrepreneurship.

NICK LUBY
Nick Luby is a 21st century musician and artist dedicated to truth, joy, community, and service. A multi-genre pianist, improviser, and producer, he concertizes nationally as a solo recitalist and chamber musician with The Concert Truck, of which he is Co-Founder and Co-Director. Since 2021, Mr. Luby has performed over 600 concerts in parks, downtown city streets and squares, neighborhoods, schools, farmers markets, and community gathering places across the country, drawing crowds throughout the US and Canada in over 20 states, and captivating thousands of listeners along the way.

Luby’s collaborators and chamber music partners include James Ehnes and the Ehnes Quartet, Efe Baltecigil, Edward Aaron, Sterling Elliot, Nathan Chan, Ara Gregorian, Rachel Lee Priday, Richard Luby, concertmasters, principals, and members of the Dallas, Seattle, and North Carolina symphonies, Alan Kay, Mikael Darmanie, composer-bassoonist Joy Guidry, beatboxer Max Bent, and rapper Lamar Adot Thomas. Luby’s performances, recordings, and interviews have been seen and heard nationwide on local, state, and national TV & radio stations.

Luby has given lectures, workshops, and coachings on music entrepreneurship, community engagement, and chamber music to undergraduate and graduate students at Rice University, the New World Symphony, the University of South Carolina, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the Aspen Music Festival & School. He began teaching piano at the age of 15 and maintained in-person and remote teaching studios until 2021, nurturing love for music.

Born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC, Luby is a laureate of the 2019 Prix Ravel in Fontainebleau, France. He holds degrees in piano performance (graduate certificate, M.M.) and music & philosophy (B.A.) from the University of South Carolina, University of Michigan, and Wesleyan University. His primary teachers include Arthur Greene and Marina Lomazov. He resides in Baltimore.

SUSAN ZHANG
Acclaimed as a pianist with “astounding musical authority” (Columbia Free Times), Susan Zhang made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Augusta Symphony. She has since been featured as a soloist with the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Aiken Civic Orchestra, the University of South Carolina Symphony, and the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. She has performed in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre and Woodruff Arts Center as well as numerous other venues in North America, Europe, and Asia. Her recordings have been featured on SC Public Radio.

Susan was a prizewinner of the Thousand Islands Chopin Competition, the Bauru-Atlanta Competition, the Burgos International Music Festival Competition, the Arthur Fraser International Piano Competition, South Carolina MTNA Young Artist Competition, and the University of South Carolina Concerto Competition. Her summer festival appearances include Pianofest in the Hamptons, the Banff Piano Master Class, Burgos International Music Festival, the Southeastern Piano Festival, and Brevard Music Center.

Susan is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, and the University of South Carolina. Her primary teachers have included Marina Lomazov, Joseph Rackers, Enrico Elisi, and Boris Slutsky. Susan currently serves on faculty at the Gilman School and Peabody Conservatory.