Rosy Zhang
Toronto-native Rosalind Zhang is a multi-instrumentalist, educator, and performer who credits her colourful experiences to her artistic upbringing. With a family of musicians, she grew up to the sound of music in her household, and began lessons as soon as she was able to reach the piano bench. Several years later, a desire to make music with others was recognized and cello was added as a second instrument. She spent her formative years immersed in a fast-paced curriculum that strived for both artistic and academic excellence at the Claude Watson School for the Arts, where she received additional training in acting, improvisation, movement, visual arts, creativity, and dance.
Throughout high school, it was important for Rosalind to maintain both piano and cello concurrently. She obtained certification as an Associate of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto in Piano Performance before accepting her admission to the University of Toronto Faculty of Music, majoring in cello alone. After receiving her Bachelor degree and an Advanced Certificate in Performance, she moved to New York and continued her cello studies at the Manhattan School of Music. Before graduating, she was offered a job to stay and work there as staff, which allowed her to cultivate her administrative and organizational strengths while balancing a performing and teaching career. Her playing is shaped by the influences of her teachers: Shauna Rolston, Julia Lichten, Michel Strauss, Ming-Yao Sheng, Wang Yang, Meizhi Bi, and of course, her mother.
In January 2023, Rosalind joined the North York Concert Orchestra as their newly appointed Principal Cellist. The same year, she toured with Mark Rowswell a.k.a. Dashan (大山) across Canada, building cultural bridges through musical poetry and comedy. Previously, she performed with the China National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on their 2017 US Tour, where they performed in Carnegie Hall (New York), Symphony Center (Chicago), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), The Kimmel Center (Philadelphia), Hill Auditorium (Ann Arbor), and Memorial Hall (Chapel Hill). Past performances have also taken her to venues across China and Canada. In October 2018, Rosalind performed at the sold-out “Ocean of Dreams” event at the 10,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. Her solo cello lines be heard in the 2019 critically-acclaimed Chinese animated film, “White Snake”.
Over the years, Rosalind has been incorporating more improvisation, comedy, and theatre into performances. She is also exploring the realm of education, searching for a more holistic approach. Using unconventional teaching methods that include interactive storytelling of composers’ lives and rote learning, she helps students foster a genuine interest in music, and has garnered a following in Canada, the US, China, and Europe. Devoted to community building and making music more accessible, her projects are closely tied to the Li Delun Music Foundation (lidelun.org) & Bukaopu Salon (bukaopu.online).
Outside of music, Rosalind is an aspiring polyglot who wants to see, discover, and make more connections in the world. She is passionate about the environment and strives for a zero-waste and plant-based lifestyle. She chooses to be a lifelong learner who continues to find wonder in new experiences everyday.
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