Autumn (Junmeng) Zhao
Performance - Voice
Office: TC 411
Email: jzhao285@uwo.ca
Autumn Zhao was born in Beijing, China in 1996. She is a distinguished soprano currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with a full scholarship at Western University under the guidance of Professor Torin Chiles. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Performance and Literature degree from Western University.
Autumn’s academic, teaching, and performance career spans both Asia and North America. She served as the soprano soloist for the University of Toronto Choirs and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. She also performed with "The Tenors" during their Christmas Concert Tour from 2018 to 2019. That same year, she was part of the Toronto Babel Choir, touring Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, leading workshops and collaborative concerts that bridged Canadian and Chinese choral music and fostered cultural exchange.
At Western University, Autumn has held several recitals and played pivotal roles in the opera division. In 2023, she sang as a soloist in the Toronto Artists Association Spring Festival Concert conducted by Dr. Liang Erhei. Her high-technical and expressive performance received widespread acclaim in Canada.
Autumn’s doctoral research focuses on vocal pedagogy and speech-language pathology, exploring the relationship between music and language and its clinical applications. She has delivered many lectures at Western University and presented her research findings at conferences, contributing to the academic community’s understanding of music education. Besides, she is also dedicated to public service and often performs as a therapy singer in nursing homes and orphanages, bringing people warmth and happiness.
From 2019 to 2021, Autumn worked in Beijing with the Peking Sinfonietta and the Asia Philharmonic Orchestra and held part-time positions at Harrow Beijing, Beijing No. 80 Middle School, and the DKP Beijing German Choir as an assistant conductor, voice teacher, and PR manager.
Autumn is not only a talented vocalist but also a professional educator. She is passionate about integrating her academic and stage experiences into her teaching and performances, aiming to share the beauty of classical music with a wider population throughout the world.
