Notable Achievements

The cello studio of Part-Time Assistant Professor of Music and Artist in Residence Hai Zheng Olefsky participated in a masterclass led by guest artist Joshua Gindele on March 21 at the Caldwell-Carvey Foyer. Professor Gindele, a cello professor at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin and a founding member of the prestigious Miro Quartet, conducted the session and provided valuable insights to the performers. During the masterclass, Anna Martens ’24, the first cellist of the SU Orchestra, performed a cello solo piece by Bach and the first movement of the Elgar Concerto, accompanied by Part-Time Instructor of Music David Utterback. Additionally, the Sarofim Piano Trio, a student trio coached by Professor of Music Kiyoshi Tamagawa, also performed a rendition of Shostakovich’s Trio Op. No. 2 in E minor at the event.

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Expertise

Cello, String Bass

Hai Zheng is Assistant Professor of Music at Southwestern University where she teaches cello and bass. She recorded as soloist with the English Chamber Orchestra in London and the Amatius Orchestra in New York at Lincoln Center. She performed as soloist with orchestras in Europe, North America, and Asia with Paul Olefsky in England; and Aldo Parisot in China. She made her European debut at the Oxford Town Hall in England and her NYC debut at Carnegie Recital Hall. Her concerts include a solo/chamber music concert at Wigmore Hall in London, a recital debut in Vienna at the Bosendorfer Saal and a Canadian debut at the Guelph International Music Festival. These concerts were highly acclaimed by The New York Times, Oxford Daily Mail, and Strad Magazine. She also debuted on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series at Chicago’s Cultural Center. As a winner of the Feuermann International Cello Competition, she participated in the 2nd International Cello Festival in Kronberg, Germany. She has recorded five CDs. Her recording of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the English Chamber Orchestra was chosen as a ?top pick? by the magazine Recording Direct. She has been a guest cellist with the Enso, Miro and Shanghai Quartets. She recently has given performances and master classes at the GuangZhou and Macau Conservatories, and a concert for the Asia Society in Hong Kong. She performs on the prestigious King Charles IX Amati Cello.

Zheng-Olefsky received her BM and MM from the University of Texas at Austin.

  • Hai Zheng is Assistant Professor of Music at Southwestern University where she teaches cello and bass. She recorded as soloist with the English Chamber Orchestra in London and the Amatius Orchestra in New York at Lincoln Center. She performed as soloist with orchestras in Europe, North America, and Asia with Paul Olefsky in England; and Aldo Parisot in China. She made her European debut at the Oxford Town Hall in England and her NYC debut at Carnegie Recital Hall. Her concerts include a solo/chamber music concert at Wigmore Hall in London, a recital debut in Vienna at the Bosendorfer Saal and a Canadian debut at the Guelph International Music Festival. These concerts were highly acclaimed by The New York Times, Oxford Daily Mail, and Strad Magazine. She also debuted on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Series at Chicago’s Cultural Center. As a winner of the Feuermann International Cello Competition, she participated in the 2nd International Cello Festival in Kronberg, Germany. She has recorded five CDs. Her recording of Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the English Chamber Orchestra was chosen as a ?top pick? by the magazine Recording Direct. She has been a guest cellist with the Enso, Miro and Shanghai Quartets. She recently has given performances and master classes at the GuangZhou and Macau Conservatories, and a concert for the Asia Society in Hong Kong. She performs on the prestigious King Charles IX Amati Cello.

    Zheng-Olefsky received her BM and MM from the University of Texas at Austin.


In the News

  • Southwestern Music Professor to be Honored by Austin Mayor Steve Adler

    Assistant Professor of Music Hai Zheng Olefsky will be honored with special proclamation on May 10 for her contribution to the Austin community.