I acknowledge that the land that I work and live on is the land of the Kaurna people.
I sincerely pay my respects to them and their culture, values and beliefs;
and to elders both past and present. Always was, always will be.
Music promotes harmony,
Harmony promotes love
Love promotes life
Life promotes music
Photo credit: Emma Luker
Zhao is an exciting and highly accomplished composer, musician, producer and teaching artist - with a heart for the community and touch of an artist. Simply a creative, she is one of South Australia’s most grounded artists as her initiatives, projects and collaborations have been heavily focused within South Australia. Her works often speak about the power of reflection, the strength that can be derived from one's introspection. Believing in accessible arts, Zhao's initiatives and performances also seeks to cross boundaries - artistically, culturally and socio-economically, often connecting with audiences of a broader background.
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Her community initiatives began with founding School of Chinese Music & Arts in 2005, which is one of the first of its kind Australia-wide. It is also one of the pioneers in partnering with local councils to design programs for the ever-growing diverse demographics. Since 2015, her initiatives have been supported by Multicultural SA and various council on many occasions. With an understanding of the local community, her programs and works speak to families of all ages.
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Artistically, Zhao has sought to experiment in different works each time. She has been commissioned by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nexus Arts, Art Gallery SA, City of Adelaide on various occasions, and her compositions have stretched from ensembles to orchestras, art music with a touch of classical, folk, jazz and improvisations. Fond of storytelling through music , her works often tell of her beliefs and values in the power of introspection. Her works are mostly presented with ensembles - San Ureshi, Radial Quartet and Moonta Street. In recent years, as she also evolves into being a producer of cross artforms, her shows mainly speak of unison, harmony and empathy – supporting the well-being of our younger Asian-Australians as a focus. For such, she has been worked on various projects with Adelaide Festival Centre, Musica Viva, Brink Productions, Actnow Theatre & Nexus Arts.
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Besides being Co-CEO at Nexus Arts and also Artistic Principal at School of Chinese Music and Arts, Zhao was previously CAAP's Artist Lab x SA Co-ordinator, as well as Treasurer at ActNow Theatre.