Shuo Zhai is a native of China, and grew up in Davis, California. Shuo graduated from Stanford University in 2005, where he received dual B.A. degrees in economics and music. As a baritone, Shuo has performed major roles in operas including Mozart's The Magic Flute (Papageno) and Monteverdi’s Orfeo (Apollo), as well as in oratorios including Bach's St. John Passion and Handel's Messiah. As an avid chorister, Shuo has performed with ensembles including the Stanford Chamber Chorale, the Hong Kong Bach Choir, and the Yale Schola Cantorum. In 2015, Shuo joined the Los Angeles Master Chorale under Artistic Director Grant Gershon. In addition to singing in the Master Chorale’s regular concert season, frequent collaborations with the LA Philharmonic have included projects with Gustavo Dudamel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Zubin Mehta, Lionel Bringuier, Iván Fischer, Susanna Mälkki, Xian Zhang, and others. In 2018, Shuo joined the 21 Master Chorale singers of Peter Sellars’ critically-acclaimed staged production of Orlando di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro, which is currently being presented on international tour.

 

As a solo pianist, Shuo has received honors in competitions including the Hong Kong Asia International Piano Competition, and the 2016 Moments of Music Foundation Concerto Competition, which he won and performed Beethoven Piano Concerto No.1 at the Colburn School. Shuo is most at home as a collaborative pianist, and frequently works with instrumentalists and vocalists in concert, audition, and masterclass settings. Engagements have included performances of works by Mendelssohn and Brahms  with the Sacramento Chamber Music Society, accompanying a masterclass with Gil Shaham, and frequent collaborations with members of the LA Philharmonic.

 

Shuo received his M.Arch in 2012 from the Yale School of Architecture, and currently work full-time as an architect at the office of Frank Gehry. At Gehry Partners, Shuo’s project experience spans a range of scales, types, and locations - notable projects have included a retrospective exhibition at the Pompidou, a cultural center in Arles, and a private guest house in Aspen. Shuo is currently working on a new masterplan for the LA River.