ABOUT
Zizhan Wu is a composer from Dalian, China. Since beginning his musical journey in high school, he has begun to find his unique voice as a composer through classical music and heavy metal music. To improve his skills, he attended Brevard Summer Institute, Screen Score Festival, as well as Screen Scoring Summer Workshops at NYU.
​
Zizhan is studying classical composition at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University with Dr. Felipe Lara after graduating from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with J. Mark Stambaugh and Susan Botti, Zizhan has begun to hone his craft and passions to encompass a diverse portfolio of works. From scoring short films to combining linguistics in music, he has developed a wide understanding of the role of music in cinematic artforms.
Zizhan never hesitates to showcase his music in live performances. With his expertise in electronic music, including live synthesis, mixing, and sound processing, he crafts a distinctive soundscape that exemplifies new possibilities in music creation, combining his vocalizing skills.
​
Currently, Zizhan is conducting a series of experiments focused on deconstructing language using linguistic techniques and reassembling it into music. The objective is to determine the point at which language (encompassing both spoken and written forms) and music diverge, as both are considered means of expressing one's thoughts. The primary distinction between the two is that the former is more "concrete," while the latter is more "abstract." At this stage, Zizhan is breaking down language phonetically.
To explore the cognitive processes involved in language production more deeply, he plans to investigate language from a morphological perspective. Moreover, this also serves as a method to raise awareness and help preserve some of the endangered languages, such as Ainu and Archi, each having less than a thousand native speakers. By doing this, Zizhan strives to celebrate the beauty of the diverse cultures on earth.