Yiyun Zhao

A Canadian-based young violinist, educator, and music content creator, and the founder of A-Strings, Yiyun Zhao is an active promoter in the contemporary diverse music field, endowed with solid classical foundations, a cross-cultural perspective, and innovative practice.

She began her violin journey at the age of six and studied at the Primary and Middle School Affiliated to Wuhan Conservatory of Music in her early years, laying a robust foundation for her performance. At 16, she pursued further studies in Canada under the tutelage of Polish violinist Maria Harding, and at 18, she was admitted to the Schulich School of Music at McGill University. She completed her bachelor’s degree with American educator Violaine Melancon and her master’s degree with Korean soloist Jinjoo Cho. In 2023, she received doctoral offers from five top music conservatories in the US and Canada and currently pursues her doctoral studies as a full-scholarship candidate in the Violin Performance program at McGill University under Professor Catherine Cosbey, holding the Graduate Excellence Fellowship. Selected for the full-scholarship MBA in Arts Innovation program at the Global Leaders Institute for the 2025-2026 academic year, she is advancing dual degrees simultaneously, earning international recognition for her academic and comprehensive capabilities.

As an active solo and chamber musician in North America, she once served as assistant concertmaster of the Richmond Community Symphony Orchestra, participated in an exchange program with the China-Europe Youth Orchestra at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, and performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. She released her original album The Tree in the Forest in 2017. Having participated in numerous top music festivals in the US, including Meadowmount, Bowdoin, and ENCORE, she studied under world-renowned maestros such as Paul Kantor and Ilya Kaler. Her performance was highly praised by Andrew Wan, Concertmaster of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, as “terrific class & finesse playing.” Deeply committed to cross-cultural expression, she will launch her debut solo album, Where the Heart Belongs, in 2026, which weaves together works by contemporary Chinese composers Chen Yi and Alice Ping Yee Ho with those of French composers Ravel and Messiaen, exploring the fusion of Eastern and Western musical languages. She is also a passionate advocate for new music, having given world premieres of works such as Rose Bolton’s String Quartet No. 2, expanding the boundaries of violin performance.
Upholding the educational philosophy of “the symbiosis of technique and character, and equal emphasis on inheritance and innovation” , she has dedicated more than a decade to teaching over 150 students. She integrates metacognition and self-regulated learning into her pedagogy and builds an inclusive learning environment through bilingual instruction. As a teaching assistant for the McGill Symphony Orchestra and the founder of the A-Strings Online Music Festival, she also acts as a music content creator with over 190,000 followers and 12 million+ views across online platforms, breaking the temporal and spatial barriers of classical music education.

赵依云（Yiyun Zhao / Abby），旅加青年小提琴演奏家、教育工作者、音乐内容创作者，艾比弦乐社 A-strings 主理人，以扎实古典功底、跨文化视野与创新实践，成为当代多元音乐领域的活跃推动者。

6 岁启蒙学琴，早年就读武汉音乐学院附小及附中，奠定坚实演奏根基；16 岁赴加深造，师从波兰小提琴家 Maria Harding，18 岁考入麦吉尔大学舒立克音乐学院，本科师从美国教育家 Violaine Melancon，硕士师从韩国独奏家 Jinjoo Cho；2023 年揽获 5 所美加顶尖音乐学院博士 offer，以麦吉尔小提琴专业唯一全奖博士生深造，现师从 Catherine Cosbey 教授，获卓越学生全奖；2025-2026 学年入选全球领袖学院艺术创新 MBA 全奖项目，双学位同步深耕，学术与综合能力获国际认可。

作为北美活跃的独奏家与室内乐演奏家，她曾任列治文区交响乐团副首席，随中欧青年交响乐团赴巴黎国立高等音乐学院交流，亮相巴黎沙特雷剧院；2017年发行原创专辑《The 年发行原创专辑《The Tree in the Forest》。多次参与美国 Meadowmount、Bowdoin、ENCORE等顶尖音乐节，受教于 Paul Kantor、Ilya Kaler等世界级大师，其演奏获蒙特利尔交响乐团首席 Andrew Wan 盛赞“兼具顶尖水准与细腻质感”。深耕跨文化表达，2026年将推出首张个人专辑《心之所归》，融合中国当代作曲家陈怡、何冰颐与法国作曲家拉威尔、梅西安作品，探索中西音乐语言交融；同时积极推广新音乐，世界首演罗斯・博尔顿《第二弦乐四重奏》等作品，拓展小提琴演奏边界。

教育领域秉持 “技艺与人格共生，传承与创新并重” 理念，深耕十余载教授 150 余名学生，将元认知与自主学习融入教学，以双语构建包容环境。身为麦吉尔乐团助教，创立 A-strings 夏季音乐节，更以全网 19 万 + 粉丝、1200 万 + 播放量的音乐 UP 主身份，让古典音乐教育突破时空。