Demonstrating consummate musicianship and enthusiastic commitment to the art of music-making, pianist Wenli Zhou brings a world-class technique, a deeply-embedded musicality, and infectious excitement to her playing. 

Ms. Zhou began her early musical training at the age of five in her native china at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music ,  subsequently making her first public appearance at age six in Chengdu. As a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, Ms. Zhou has given performances in such places as Carnegie Recital Hall, Miller Theaters in New York city, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D. C., Liszt Academy of Budapest in Hungary, Japan, Poland, Canada, and numerous cities through China and the United States.

She is the recipient of prizes and awards from international and regional competitions, including the Wolrd Piano Competition, Frinna Awerbuch International Competition of the New York Congress of Piano Teachers, Grace Welch International Piano Competition in Chicago and in the Kankakee (Illinois) Concerto Competition, and the Rislov Foundation Award. In addition, she was the winner of the Rice Univeristy Concerto Comptition, the University of Michigan Concerto Competition as well as the Western Michigan University Concerto Competition.

At the 2004 Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Ms. Zhou was invited to perform in a master class given by Emanuel Ax. She was also selected to perform for Garrick Ohlsson and David Owen Norris, the first Gilmore Artist in the 2002 and 2000. In addition, she has worked with prominent musicians and composers, such as Vladimir Feltsman, Betsy Jolas, Lee Kum-Sing, Paul Ostrovsky, John Perry, Bright Sheng, Alexander Slobodyanik, and Earl Wild, among others. Ms. Zhou has also served as the pianist for PianoSummer at New Paltz, the Las Vegas Piano Festival, and the Music Bridge in Calgary, Canada. 

Ms. Zhou takes a strong interest in the music of her homeland. She has performed Bright Sheng’s My Song for piano many times and has commissioned and premiered Yi Meng by Pamela Chen. She has also collaborated with Chinese musicians include Ma Xiaohui, an active Er'hu player in China and overseas. 

Ms. Zhou holds degrees and diplomas from the University of Michigan, Western Michigan University and Sichuan Conservatory of Music (Pre-College). She is currently on the piano faculty at University of Texas Pan American and pursuing her Doctoral of Musical Arts at Rice University in Houston. Her primary teachers include Robert Roux, Logan Skelton, Arthur Greene, Lori Sims, and Hanguo Yang.