Cellist Hai Zheng Serenades Georgetown, Inspires Next Generation of Musicians
Growing up during China’s Cultural Revolution, Shanghai native Hai Zheng discovered a love of music that carried her through her home’s upheaval all the way to the United States, where she continues to inspire audiences as well as the next generation of performers across Central Texas.
Hai’s parents were physicians and traveled around China during the revolution. Hai was raised by her grandmother on Gulangyu Island, also known as the Piano Island, in southeastern China.
Being surrounded by musicians and coming from a family of music lovers as well as doctors, Hai was faced with two career paths—an easy decision after she fell in love with the sound of a cello at school. “People always say music is the universal language,” she says. “I would take it one step further and say music is the language of the soul.”
Welcome to America
Her journey to the U.S. began when she was offered a scholarship and the chance to study at the University of Texas at Austin. She later made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Knowing she had two avenues for a music career, Hai ended up choosing both, delighting classical music fans from the stage as well as shepherding students on their music journeys at Southwestern University. “It was time for me to pass on what I was taught to the next generation so I could give back,” she says.
Over the course of her own music journey, Hai has performed around the world from Europe to Asia to North America. Of all her performing destinations, Georgetown is one of her favorites. Having taught at Southwestern since 1995, “I felt like I grew up with Georgetown,” she says.