Xi Zhang

Dr Xi Zhang was awarded her PhD in Music and Science by the University of Cambridge, following the completion of an MMus in Ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London. She also holds an MA in the Psychology of Music and a BA in Music Education from Xinghai Conservatory of Music in China.

Xi’s research falls within systematic musicology by combining ethnomusicological, psychological, and computational approaches, focusing on Chinese music to explore the cultural, cognitive, and linguistic factors that shape musical practices. She is also interested in digital humanities approaches to Chinese music, with a particular focus on the role of AI technologies in connecting archival materials with contemporary musical performance and practice.

Before embarking on her doctoral studies, Xi served as a staff editor on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Xinghai Conservatory of Music from 2008 to 2014. During the same period, she worked as a research assistant and later as a research fellow at the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, contributing to three state-funded research projects and conducting experiments and extensive fieldwork across southern China.