Ms. ZHAO Cong
President of the China National Traditional Orchestra

ZHAO Cong is the president of the China National Traditional Orchestra, the principal performer of the Pipa (Chinese four-stringed lute), a national top-level performer, and a young composer supported by the China National Arts Fund. Enjoying an admirable reputation in the international classical music scene, she takes the promotion of Chinese traditional music as her personal lifetime mission and has dedicated many years to the spreading of the art of the Pipa throughout the world. With the spirit of inheriting the tradition and being innovative, she has become an outstanding representative of Chinese musicians.

In addition, ZHAO Cong has served in several important posts, such as a member of the 9th Council of the China Musicians Association, the vice president of the Pipa Society of the China Musicians Association, the advisor of the General Art Troupe of Peking University, the first-ever Chinese art visiting scholar of Stanford University, the invited art visiting scholar of Cambridge University, UK, the judge of the China National Arts Fund, CCTV National Instrument Competition, International China National Musical Instrument Competition, and many other competitions, the member of the first session for key composers granted by the China National Arts Fund, the China Day special guest artist of Harvard University, the distinguished professor of Fudan University, the expert who enjoys the special government allowance from the State Council of China. ZHAO Cong graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music in 2000 and studied arts management at the Peking University Senior Specialists Training Class in 2015. She has received the US "International World Music Master" certification.

She has won the "First Prize" in the China National Youth Pipa Competition several times, the "Individual Contribution Award for Overseas Promotion" from the Ministry of Culture, and the gold medal in the San Jose International Musical Instrument Competition. The backpack Pipa designed by ZHAO Cong has been granted a national patent.

ZHAO Cong has released solo albums such as Carmen (卡门), Sound of China (聆听中国), Forever Sutra (经典永恒), New Talk of Pipa (琵琶新语), etc. She composed the Pipa concerto The Flying Fairy of Silk Road (丝路飞天), the Pipa concerto Luckiness and Eternity (福吉天长), and the Pipa suite Blossoming Melodies from Shanghai (乐鸣东方). Among them, Sound of China (聆听中国) became the first solo album of Chinese traditional music in the history of Universal International Records, which was collected by the National Library of China and the Library of Congress, United States; The Flying Fairy of Silk Road won the National Arts Fund Award; and The Most Beautiful Times (最美时光), Rose Tango (玫瑰探戈) won the National Arts Fund Young Composer Award. A foreign media commented, "The Flying Fairy of Silk Road (丝路飞天) is a Chinese work with an international musical vocabulary and full of power." Luckiness and Eternity (福吉天长) was selected as the "Times Symphony - China Symphonic Music Works Creation Support Program" by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China. In 2022, ZHAO Cong created the meta-universe concept music The Kalavinka (三星堆·神鸟). In addition, she has also composed many music works such as the music song Red Flag Rising (红旗·升), the music song Leaving (鲲鹏志), the solo Pipa piece The Rhyme of Winter (冬之韵) and her famous representative works Ambush from All Sides and Red Flame, etc.

ZHAO Cong has visited more than 50 countries and regions in Europe, America, Asia, Oceania, etc. More than 40 foreign heads of state have listened to her music. Her Pipa string melodies have resounded in many world-class theaters, including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Barbican Center, Sapporo Concert Hall, Grand Theatre of St. Petersburg, etc.

Her music has been appreciated by more than ten presidents and heads of state of various countries, such as Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin, Li Keqiang(Premier) from China, Clinton, Hillary from the United States, Putin, Medvedev from Russia, and Kevin Rudd from Australia.

ZHAO Cong performed at the "Most Memorable Is Hangzhou" concert at the G20 Summit in China in 2016 and at the "Belt and Road Initiative" International Summit in 2017 as a representative of Chinese music. In 2019, she participated in a concert in Moscow in the presence of the heads of state of the two countries to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and China.

ZHAO Cong's Pipa performance has received many favorable comments from all around the world. The Guardian newspaper said, "ZHAO Cong's wonderful performance makes Chinese traditional music sound very promising." When commenting on ZHAO Cong's performance, Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister of Australia, said, "Your music is so exciting that I have to stand up to listen to it..." Jeff Rona, Grammy Awards judge, said, "The Sound of China is the most beautiful Chinese music in the eyes of musicians worldwide"; Danny, the director of Universal Music Group, said, "ZHAO Cong's music gives us the power to promote Chinese traditional music to the world." Many mainstream media in the world such as the American TV station and the official website of the John F. Kennedy Center reported about ZHAO Cong and her wonderful performances. They honored her as a "music diplomat." They said, "ZHAO Cong uses her Pipa to convey the beauty of Chinese traditional music to the world, and has made great contributions to the internationalization of Chinese music."