Jialiang Zhu 

Jialiang Zhu is a native of China and currently calls Toronto, Canada her home. She is pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts (DMA) Degree in Collaborative Piano at the University of Toronto, where she studies with Lydia Wong and where she has previously received Master’s Degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy and Bachelor’s Degree in Piano Performance with Marietta Orlov. Her thesis research examines Chinese art songs and aims to provide non-Mandarin speakers with a practical guide on how approach this unique and beautiful repertoire. In January 2021, she and her colleagues will be presenting a lecture recital on Chinese art songs written in the twenty-first century, which will include several world premieres and North America premieres. Besides her doctoral studies, she teaches Keyboard Skills class at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music. As a soloist, Jialiang has been the winner of the University of Toronto DMA recital competition (2018) and the featured soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with conductor Trevor Dearham and York Chamber Ensemble (2017). An active collaborative pianist, she has joined forces with soprano Xin Wang in recital at the Beijing Modern Music Festival (2019), and performed as the recipient of the Gwendolyn Williams Koldofsky Prize in Accompanying (2018) in recital with mezzo-soprano Simona Genga, who won the Jim and Charlotte Norcop Prize in Song. Jialiang co-founded the Bedford Trio with violinist Alessia Disimino and cellist Andrew Ascenzo in 2016. Most recently, they have recently made their Italy debut virtually in the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory season opening concert. Currently in the Irene R. Miller Piano Trio Residency at the University of Toronto, they will be judges for the Faculty of Music’s inaugural piano trio composition competition and will be premiering the winning piece as part of the Faculty's New Music Festival.