Rachel Lee Zhao is a violinist born and raised in the lush farmland of the Shenandoah Valley, VA. She graduated from Oberlin Conservatory with a Bachelors in Violin Performance, earned her Masters of Music degree in Violin Performance from Roosevelt University, and graduated from Shenandoah University with an Artist Diploma. Rachel is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Violin Performance at Stony Brook University. Her primary teachers have included Almita Vamos, Jennifer Frautschi, Philip Setzer, Hagai Shaham, Arnaud Sussmann, David Bowlin, and Akemi Takayama. As part of the Emerson String Quartet Intensive Rachel received weekly coaching’s with members of the Emerson Quartet from 2022-2024. Rachel has a passion for teaching and was the Adjunct Instructor of Applied Violin at Shenandoah University for the 2023-2024 school year and is currently an undergrad chamber music coach at Stony Brook University. Rachel is an avid chamber and orchestral musician and is currently a member of the New Orchestra of Washington and Chrysalis Chamber Players. Recent solo and chamber highlights include performing alongside members of the Emerson Quartet at Stony Brook University’s Legacy concert series, and the world premiere in March 2024 of Margaret Schedel’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion at the DiMena Center in NYC. Rachel is inspired by contemporary chamber music and hopes to continue to promote and collaborate with young composers, creating sustainable art for the future.