Zhengtao Pan

Zhengtao Pan is a composer and arranger born in 2003 who grew up in Shanghai, China. Currently studying Jazz Composition and Composition at Berklee College of Music, his commercial game works include "Mist Sequence," "Lost Soul Aside," "One Piece: The Bloodline," and "Arknights," among others. He has worked on music outsourcing for companies like ByteDance, Masaya Games, and miHoYo.

Beyond media scoring, Zhengtao Pan excels as an arranger and orchestrator for jazz orchestras and Big Bands, with his concert music premiered by ensembles like the HyperCube ensemble, Cascadia Composers, and Webster University.

His achievements in music composition have led to his music being selected as the best large instrumental composition in the Jazz Education Network and 3-time winning the Downbeat Student Award for small & large ensemble composition/arrangement. He also secured victories in the ASMAC Pat Williams Composing and Arranging Competitions and earned first place at the Bridges Composition Competition at Ravinia Jazz Festival.

His Big Band works have been performed by renowned artists including Grammy-winning artist Steven Feifke’s Big Band, jazz saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, and the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble directed by Dave Rivello. Zhengtao collaborates with esteemed musicians such as Benny Benack III, Walter Smith III, Itai Kriss, and Andrew Gould for his debut Big Band album "Scenery in My Story," which will be released under the NYC-based jazz label "Outside In Music." His collaborations extend to the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, Budapest Jazz Orchestra, US Jazz Ambassadors, European Recording Orchestra, Shanghai Symphonic Orchestra, Belarus Sonic Orchestra, and more.

Recently, he engaged in collaborative efforts with acclaimed artists Rufus Reid, Steve Wilson, and Sara Gazarek on his 2nd Big Band album, further demonstrating his dynamic presence in the jazz and wider music community.

Zhengtao Pan is also active in the digital space as an online streamer on the Chinese streaming platform Bilibili, where he shares music from his Vocaloid and virtual singer projects, amassing over 1 million views. His popular works, like "Secret Treasure Traveler," have garnered widespread praise. Zhengtao believes that every note is a tool to express his identity, continuously enriching the global music landscape through his diverse collaborations and creative endeavors.

Awards

2025:

Robert Avalon Competition for Composers
- Second Place

2024:

MTNA Young Composer Competition
- Eastern Division Winner/National Division Finalist
Ravinia Festival "Bridges Composition Competition"
- Winner
Downbeat Magazine Student Competition
- Best Large Ensemble Composition
- Best Jazz Arrangement
Tribeca New Music Young Composer Competition
- Emerging Composer
Ithaca College Jazz Composition Competition
- Honorable Mention
ISJAC Jazz Composers' Symposium
- Presenter
Berklee Piano Department
- "Composer & Pianist Award" - Recipient
Berklee Composition Department
- "Bill Maloof Award" - Recipient
Bilibili Virtual Singer Composition Contest
- Honorable Mention
Dreamtonics Virtual Singer Composition Contest
- Finalist

2023:

Downbeat Magazine Student Competition
- Best Small Ensemble Composition
ASMAC Pat Williams Composing & Arranging Competition
- First Place
ScoreLive Gala Concert Film Music Competition
- Second Place
Young Musician International Competition "Citta di Barletta"
- First Absolute Prize/Third Prize
NYC Contemporary Music Symposium Competition
- Semifinalist
International Digital Music Festival of Shanghai Conservatory Of Music
- Finalist
Upchord Sound Conference Award
- Finalist
Score The Word Film Scoring Contest
- Top 30
MTNA Massachusetts Young Artist Composition Competition
- Honorable Mention
Jazz Education Network
- Best Large Ensemble Composition
ISAC International Popular Music Composition Competition
- 3 Times Honorable Mention
World Master Open Music Competition
- Absolute First Prize
Cascadia Composer Spring Concert Competition
- Winner
Community Music School (CMS) of Webster University Young Composers Competition
- Second Place
Cum Laude Music Awards IV Edition
- Winner
15th Fidelio Piano Composition Competition
- Second Place

2022:

LeCine Film Music Competition
- Semifinalist
ERO 2022 Call for Score
- Finalist
Berklee World Tour Scholarship
- Recipient
Upchord Sound Conference Award
- Finalist

New Music from the Zhengtao Pan Jazz Orchestra, Remembering Hal Galper, and Darius Jones

by Hobart Taylor
July 30, 2025

Welcome the Zhentao Pan Jazz Orchestra, Plus new music from Lauren Henderson, Joe Farnsworth, Ohad Talmor and Remembering Hal Galper.Playlist Lauren Henderson “Vida" from Sonidos (Brontosaurus) 00:00 Hal Galper Reggie Workman Rashied Ali “ Stella by Starlight" from Art-Work (Origin) 4:19 Host Speaks 13:38 Waitiki 7 “Cave of the Tarpon (live)" from Exotica Reborn: In Studio and Live at House Without A Key (Self-Produced) 15:00 Nicole Zuraitis “Everything Must Change" from Live at Vic's (La Reserve) 22:00 Host ...

Album Review

Zhengtao Pan Jazz Orchestra: Scenery in My Story

Read "Scenery in My Story" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
April 6, 2025

Zhengtao Pan, born in Shanghai, China, less than twenty-five years ago, was already well-known as a designer of video games when he chose to move to Boston, MA, to study jazz composition at the Berklee College of Music. Scenery In My Story is Pan's debut recording as leader of his Jazz Orchestra, and as its title suggests, the music is personal and thematic, tracing in solicitous terms Pan's impactful voyage from Shanghai to Boston. Intimate, yes, but ...