ZHAO MINGWEI

CELLO

Mingwei Zhao is an accomplished cellist and dedicated educator. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance on a full scholarship from Bowling Green State University (BGSU), followed by a Master of Music and an Artist Diploma from the University of Southern California (USC), where he also served as a teaching assistant. During his time in the United States, he received numerous prizes in regional and state competitions and collaborated extensively in chamber music, notably with the renowned violinist Midori, who described him as “a rare and profoundly thoughtful musician.”

Since returning to China, Zhao has successfully combined an active performance career with a deep commitment to teaching. In addition to his faculty position at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, he serves as Visiting Professor at Xiamen University and has been a Visiting Scholar at Bowling Green State University. He is also regularly invited to teach at international festivals and academies, including Ameropa (Prague), the Lugano Festival (Switzerland), and the Zhuhai Huafa International String Masterclasses.

Zhao has performed in major concert venues around the world, including the National Centre for the Performing Arts (Beijing), Shanghai Concert Hall, Smetana Hall (Prague), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus Berlin, and Peking University. He has appeared alongside distinguished conductors and ensembles such as Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Tilson Thomas, Helmuth Rilling, the Beaux Arts Trio, and the Juilliard String Quartet, contributing to over a hundred performances.

Among his notable achievements, Zhao gave the Western China premiere of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Sichuan Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, as well as the regional premiere of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. In 2020, marking the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, he performed the complete cycle of Beethoven’s works for cello and piano at the Chengdu City Concert Hall, a project he will reprise there in September 2025.

From 2021 to 2024, Zhao presented a complete cycle of Bach’s Cello Suites, performing in historic and cultural venues across Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Pengzhou, creating a dialogue between timeless music and architectural heritage.

In autumn 2024, he collaborated with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra to perform the cello concerto Zhuang Zhou’s Dream at the Shanghai Concert Hall.

He is also co-founder of the “Absolute Classical Chamber Music Club,” now recognized as one of Chengdu’s most vibrant and intimate concert platforms.

His students have won numerous top prizes in international and regional competitions and have been awarded full scholarships to leading music institutions in Europe and the United States.

Beyond his musical activities, Zhao is active as a translator and writer. He has been invited on multiple occasions to serve as a translator and simultaneous interpreter at the International