Chinese-American pianist Shaoai Ashley Zhang is a multi-faceted performer, specializing in music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. She has performed around the globe in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, China, and across the US. A 2024 Emerging Artist of Piano Spheres, Shaoai’s recent performances include appearances at the Lucerne Forward Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Colburn School of Music, Kneisel Hall, and Darmstädter Ferienkurse. 

As a dedicated champion of contemporary music, Shaoai has premiered and commissioned dozens of new works. Recent premieres include works by Carolyn Chen, Fernanda Aoki Navarro, Alex Taylor, Nathan Haering, Alex Stephenson, and Hayes Biggs. In addition to commissioning projects, she has worked closely with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Unsuk Chin, Sofia Gubaidulina, George Lewis, John Zorn, Michael Finnissy, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, George Friedrich Haas, and Vinko Globokar. As a soloist with orchestra, Shaoai has performed the Double Concerto by Unsuk Chin and The Temptations of St. Anthony by John Zorn.

Beyond solo activities, Shaoai is an active chamber musician. As a member of the piano & percussion group, Duo Refracta, with percussionist Michael Jones, they have collaborated with composers Scott Wollschleger, Matt Sargent, Kevin Good, Aaron Wyanski, and Michael Pisaro. Their most recent recordings can be heard on Sawyer Editions and include music by Matt Sargent and Sarah Hennies. Shaoai also regularly performs with saxophonist Andrew R. Steinberg, concertizing throughout the US, Asia, and Europe. Together they have presented recitals highlighting music by Hans Kox, Ursula Mamlok, and Steven Stucky. Alongside modern repertoire, Shaoai is equally at ease performing older repertoire, ranging from Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms to Bartok, Stravinsky, and Ravel.

Shaoai started her musical journey in Moscow, Russia, where she began to learn piano and was admitted to the Central School of the Moscow Conservatory at the age of 5. Under the tutelage of Dmitri Grigorcevich and Elena Richter, she graduated with honors in 2011. Shaoai continued her studies at the New England Conservatory, where she earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees under Stephen Drury. For her contributions to contemporary music at New England Conservatory, Shaoai was presented with the John Cage Award upon graduation. Furthering her studies on new music, Shaoai received her doctorate in Contemporary Music Performance at the University of California San Diego, studying under Aleck Karis.