Zhuo Zhao is a PhD candidate in Music Theory at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from Inner Mongolia University, China, a master’s degree in Composition and Music Theory from Inner Mongolia University, and a master’s degree in Music Theory from New England Conservatory. Throughout her academic career at both New England Conservatory of Music and Rutgers University, Zhuo has served as a teaching assistant for courses in music theory, aural skills, and keyboard skills.

Currently a lecturer at Mason Gross, Zhuo teaches theory courses and music analysis for non-major students. As a music theorist, her research focuses on formal studies, particularly applying interdisciplinary principles to analyze the form of symphonic works from the Modern period. Additionally, Zhuo is interested in the interdisciplinary research between music and wellness, as well as global ethnomusicology, specifically the study of Mongolian music.

Zhuo has presented her dissertation chapter, “From Explicit to Implicit: A Semiotic Interpretation of Sonata Formal Prototype in the First Two Movements of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony,” at several conferences, including CUNY 26th Annual Graduate Students in Music Conference 2023, Midwest Graduate Music Consortium 2023 at The University of Chicago, and The Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic Twenty-Second Annual Meeting 2024 at Christopher Newport University.

Actively involved in academic conference organization, Zhuo served as the vice president of the Asian Classical Music Initiative International Conference at Rutgers University in 2023. She has also been awarded MGSA Inclusive Teaching Grant for 2024-25.