Zachary Good, a doctoral clarinet student of Steven Cohen, and Muzi Zhao, a dual-degree Bienen-Medill piano student of James Giles, have been named 2021 Fellows in Classical Music by the Luminarts Cultural Foundation. Each will receive a $7,500 award. 

The Luminarts Cultural Foundation cultivates Chicago’s vibrant arts community by supporting exemplary young artists through its programs that offer financial awards, artistic opportunities, and mentoring that bridge the gap between education and career. Fellows will receive continued support from the foundation through professional development, performance opportunities, and additional project grant funding.

Zachary Good

Zachary Good is a Chicago-based instrumentalist (clarinets and Baroque recorders), composer, improviser, and performer. He approaches music making with a variety of perspectives, ranging from historically-informed to experimental practices, while working across a spectrum of genres and techniques. Zachary is clarinetist of the GRAMMY-award winning sextet Eighth Blackbird, a founding Co-Artistic Director of the performance collective Mocrep, and one-third of the clarinet/percussion/cello trio ZRL. He has frequently performed with International Contemporary Ensemble, Music of the Baroque Chicago, Manual Cinema, and Ensemble Dal Niente. He has been a featured soloist with International Contemporary Ensemble, DePaul University's Ensemble 20+, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s All Access Chamber Series. His discography includes releases on Carrier Records, No Index, Homeroom, Parlour Tapes+, ears&eyes, and more. Zachary is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory and DePaul University. His body of research explores the phenomena and functionality of dyad multiphonics on the soprano clarinet.

Muzi Zhao

Muzi Zhao began studying piano at the age of four under the tutelage of Young Zheng. He studied with Professor Gabriel Kwok from 2008-2016 at the Junior Music Program at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He has won 4th prize at the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition (2012), gold prize at the 14th Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia (2013), 1st prize at the Fourth Kawai Asian Piano Competition (2013), 5th prize at Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists (2014), 1st place at the Emilio del Rosario Concerto Competition, 3rd prize at the PianoArts North American Competition (2018), 2nd prize at the Brancaleoni International Online Piano Competition (2020) and 3rd prize at the 2021 MTNA Young Artist Piano Competition. Recent musical activities include performances with the Torun Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra as resident artist. As a solo artist, he has performed at Poli Theatre and Carnegie Hall. He has attended summer festivals including the Paderewski Piano Academy, Frost Chopin Academy, and Mozarteum Summer Academy. 
 


  • fellowships
  • Steven Cohen
  • James Giles