Zhaoxuan Song

Zhaoxuan Song — Biography Zhaoxuan Song is a percussionist from Beijing, China, currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance at New York University, where he studies with world-renowned timpanist and percussionist Jonathan Haas. Zhaoxuan began his musical training in traditional Chinese percussion and relocated to the United States in 2018 to pursue advanced studies in Western percussion performance. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from The Hartt School and a Master of Music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with John Tafoya, Joseph Gramley, and Kevin Bobo. At The Hartt School, he studied with Benjamin Toth. During his studies, Zhaoxuan has performed a wide range of repertoire. In 2025, he completed an arrangement of Chen Yi’s Percussion Concerto for percussion quintet and piano, which received its world premiere at New York University on October 27, 2025. Zhaoxuan’s current music work centers on collaborations between percussion and voice, exploring the theatrical, ritualistic, and expressive dimensions of contemporary music. His performance and research emphasize percussion as an equal and communicative partner rather than a purely accompanimental force. In addition to classical performance, Zhaoxuan is deeply engaged with world percussion traditions, including Brazilian samba, African drumming, and steel pan. Drawing from both Eastern and Western musical practices, he is committed to fostering cross-cultural dialogue through rhythm, integrating performance and pedagogy in his artistic vision.