Yiyun Zhao is a violinist, educator, and creative innovator whose work spans performance, pedagogy, and digital artistic engagement. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music in Violin Performance at McGill University and an MBA in Arts Innovation through the Global Leaders Institute. Her artistic and educational practice centers on violin pedagogy, self-regulated learning, cross-cultural collaboration, and the creation of accessible musical experiences for diverse audiences.
Full Biography | 个人简介
Yiyun Zhao (Abby) is a Chinese-born violinist, educator, and creative entrepreneur based in Montreal whose artistry blends classical tradition with a contemporary global voice. Active across the concert stage, teaching studio, and digital media space, she is dedicated to connecting cultures, generations, and audiences through music. With a rare combination of refined musicianship, entrepreneurial vision, and broad public reach, Zhao represents a new model of the 21st-century classical artist.
Praised for her expressive artistry, elegance, and imaginative programming, Zhao has appeared in concerts and festivals across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Performance highlights include appearances at Théâtre du Châtelet with the China–Europe Youth Orchestra; Shanghai Oriental Art Center; concerts in Cáceres, Spain, as part of international cultural initiatives; and engagements with Festival del Lago, ENCORE Chamber Music Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Meadowmount School of Music. She is equally committed to contemporary repertoire, including world premiere performances and interdisciplinary collaborations. Her playing has been praised by Andrew Wan for its “terrific class and finesse.”
Zhao is currently completing the Doctor of Music degree in Violin Performance at McGill University as a fully funded fellow and recipient of the Graduate Excellence Fellowship. She previously earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from McGill’s Schulich School of Music, where she studied with distinguished artists Violaine Melançon, Jinjoo Cho, and Catherine Cosbey. She is also pursuing the MBA in Arts Innovation at the Global Leaders Institute with full scholarship, reflecting her commitment to shaping the future of the arts through creativity and entrepreneurship.
Her debut album, Where the Heart Belongs (2026), explores themes of memory, identity, and belonging through music by Chen Yi, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Maurice Ravel, and Olivier Messiaen, reflecting her ongoing artistic interest in dialogue between Eastern and Western musical traditions.
Beyond the concert stage, Zhao is a widely followed digital creator whose educational and performance content has reached more than 190,000 followers and over 12 million views worldwide. Her signature media projects include a cinematic interpretation of Hiroyuki Sawano’s Call of Silence, filmed at Caerphilly Castle, which has attracted more than 3.6 million views, as well as a growing body of nature-inspired music films that reimagine how performance can reconnect audiences with landscape, reflection, and human emotion.
An accomplished educator, Zhao has taught students internationally for over a decade and currently serves as Teaching Assistant to Catherine Cosbey at McGill University, in addition to working as a Sectional Coach for the McGill Symphony Orchestra. Her students have earned prizes in leading Canadian competitions and festivals, with several young artists admitted to the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and selected for prestigious programs including Domaine Forget de Charlevoix and the Toronto Summer Music Festival. Inspired by her doctoral research in music pedagogy, her teaching philosophy emphasizes self-regulated learning, the development of self-efficacy, and helping each student cultivate an independent and confident artistic voice.
赵依云（Abby），旅加华人小提琴家、教育者与艺术创业者，现居Montreal。她的艺术实践融合传统演奏功底与当代国际视野，活跃于舞台演出、音乐教育与数字创作领域，致力于通过音乐连接不同文化、世代与观众群体，展现新一代古典音乐家的多元可能性。
赵依云以富有表现力的演奏风格、细腻优雅的音乐气质及富有创意的节目策划而受到关注，曾于北美、欧洲、亚洲及拉丁美洲多个舞台与音乐节演出。重要演出经历包括随中欧青年乐团登上Théâtre du Châtelet（巴黎），于Shanghai Oriental Art Center演出，并受邀参加西班牙Cáceres 31国际文化活动音乐会。她亦曾参与Festival del Lago、ENCORE Chamber Music Institute、Bowdoin International Music Festival及Meadowmount School of Music等国际音乐节。她的演奏曾获Andrew Wan评价为兼具“卓越的品味与细腻的风格”。
目前，赵依云于McGill University攻读小提琴演奏博士学位（Doctor of Music），并获全额奖学金及 Graduate Excellence Fellowship 资助。此前，她于 McGill 舒立克音乐学院取得学士与硕士学位，师从Violaine Melançon、Jinjoo Cho及Catherine Cosbey。同时，她亦就读于Global Leaders Institute全球领导人艺术创新 MBA 项目，持续探索艺术领导力与创新性的发展。
她的首张个人专辑《Where the Heart Belongs》（2026）围绕记忆、身份与归属主题展开，收录陈怡、Alice Ping Yee Ho、Maurice Ravel与Olivier Messiaen等中法作曲家作品，展现其对东西方音乐语言交流的持续探索。
除舞台演出外，赵依云亦是广受欢迎的数字音乐创作者，在全球平台拥有超过19万关注者及1200万播放量。代表作品包括于Caerphilly Castle（英国）拍摄的《Call of Silence》音乐影片，观看量超过360万次，以及于Quebec City（加拿大）拍摄的《Stay with Me》音乐影片，观看量超过170万次，一系列以自然景观为主题的音乐影像作品，重新想象音乐如何连接人、自然与情感体验。
作为教育者，她拥有十余年教学经验，现任McGill University，Catherine Cosbey 教授教学助理，并担任麦吉尔交响乐团弦乐分部指导教师。其学生曾于加拿大多项比赛中获奖，多位青年学生考入Conservatoire de musique de Montréal（蒙特利尔音乐学院），并入选Domaine Forget de Charlevoix及Toronto Summer Music Festival等知名北美音乐节。受博士研究启发，她的教学理念强调自我调节学习（self-regulated learning）、自我效能感（self-efficacy）的培养，以及帮助学生建立独立、自信且富有个性的艺术声音。
“Through the voice of the violin, I seek to connect performance, learning, and cultures, creating spaces where music inspires reflection, collaboration, and a deeper sense of belonging.” — Yiyun