I am Mo Zhou, a composer, sound artist, and musician currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at the University of Nottingham. My work explores the relationship between music and nature, blending electronic and acoustic elements to craft immersive soundscapes and storytelling. I collaborate across film, theatre, and concert settings, creating soundtracks, sound design, and immersive experiences that connect audiences with the natural world and human imagination.

Mo Zhou

I am Mo Zhou, a composer, sound artist, and musician currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at the University of Nottingham. My work explores the relationship between music and nature, blending electronic and acoustic elements to craft immersive soundscapes and storytelling. I collaborate across film, theatre, and concert settings, creating soundtracks, sound design, and immersive experiences that connect audiences with the natural world and human imagination.

Available to hire

I am Mo Zhou, a composer, sound artist, and musician currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition at the University of Nottingham. My work explores the relationship between music and nature, blending electronic and acoustic elements to craft immersive soundscapes and storytelling.

I collaborate across film, theatre, and concert settings, creating soundtracks, sound design, and immersive experiences that connect audiences with the natural world and human imagination.

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Experience Level

Expert
Expert
Expert
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Composer / Collaborator at Villiers String Quartet
December 1, 2025 - Present
Experimental music piece 'Epitaph for Water' created in collaboration with the Villier String Quartet Workshop; involves electronics, string quartet, and hydrophone.
Composer at BBC Concert Orchestra
November 1, 2025 - Present
Original soundtrack for animated short film 'Cycles'; performed by BBC Concert Orchestra at the Friday Night is Music Night and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Composer / Sound Artist at Nottingham Castle Exhibition
May 1, 2025 - Present
Soundwalk immersive piece blending natural field recordings and electronic music; featured in the Nottingham Castle exhibition.
Composer at NTU (Nottingham Trent University)
March 25, 2025 - Present
Original film score for animation, created with an NTU animator; performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.
Composer at Villiers String Quartet
December 1, 2024 - Present
Dialogue Between Cave and Canopy; composed for the Villiers String Quartet during a composition workshop.
Composer / Arranger at Shandong Provincial Capital Culture and Art Center Grand Theatre
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
The Rabbit Who Wants to Fly; children's musical for stage, composed and arranged; staged at Jinan Children's Art Theater and the Grand Theatre.
Composer / Arranger at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Flags of One Hundred Years; musical, composed and arranged; recognized by the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism as an outstanding production.
Composer at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020
School of Genius; absurd youth musical comedy; composed and arranged for stage production.
Composer at Jinan Musicians Association
March 1, 2020 - Present
Spring 2020 – Public-minded song 'Music Delivers Love' published during COVID-19; inspired medical workers and society.
Private Tutor, Theory and Composition Teacher at Self-employed
January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2022
Taught music theory and composition courses to high school and university students.
Piano Teacher at Starlight Children’s Art Troupe of Weifang
January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020
Piano instruction for children in Shandong Province.
Piano Teacher at Tianlai Art School
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2022
Piano instruction.
Guest Assistant Tutor – Sound Design at Trinity Laban
August 1, 2025 - August 31, 2025
Assisted Dr John Richards in sound design workshops for young musicians; supported creative audio practices like electronic sound, uniting music, craft and science.
Guest Assistant – Composition Skills at University of Nottingham
February 1, 2026 - February 28, 2026
Taught composition skills in university settings, including elements of music production and sound design, and contributed to teaching design.
Composer at Villier Quartet
December 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025
Epitaph for Water – experimental music created in collaboration with the Villier Quartet; workshop for electronic with string quartet and hydrophone.
Composer at Nottingham Castle
May 1, 2025 - May 31, 2025
Soundwalk – immersive soundwalk blending natural field recordings and electronic music; exhibited in the Nottingham Castle exhibition.
Composer at NTU / Notable Animator collaborator
March 25, 2025 - March 25, 2025
Cycles – original film score for animation; collaboration with an NTU animator; performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.
Composer at Shandong Provincial Capital Culture and Art Center Grand Theatre
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
The Rabbit Who Wants to Fly – children’s musical (computer composition); staged at Jinan Children's Art Theater and the Grand Theatre.
Composer at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Flags of One Hundred Years – musical; composed and arranged; recognized by the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism as an outstanding product.
Private Tutor
January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2022
Theory and Composition tutor; taught music theory and composition to high school and university students (PT).
Piano Teacher at Starlight Children’s Art Troupe of Weifang
January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021
Piano teaching for children (PT).
Piano Teacher at Tianlai Art School
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2022
Piano teaching (PT).
Composer at Nottingham Castle Exhibition
May 1, 2025 - May 31, 2025
Soundwalk – immersive soundwalk, blends natural field recordings and electronic music to transport listeners back to the Sherwood Forest of 1000 years ago.
Composer at NTU / BBC Concert Orchestra
March 25, 2025 - March 25, 2025
Cycles – original film score for animation; collaboration with an NTU animator; performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham.

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Composition and Theories of Composition at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2018
Master of Arts in Music Composition at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2022
PhD in Music Composition at University of Nottingham
January 1, 2024 - February 27, 2026
PhD in Music Composition at University of Nottingham
January 1, 2024 - February 27, 2026
Bachelor of Arts in Composition and Theories of Composition at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2022
Master of Arts in Music Composition at Shandong University of Arts
January 11, 2030 - February 27, 2026
PhD in Music Composition at University of Nottingham
January 1, 2024 - February 27, 2026
Master of Arts in Music Composition at Shandong University of Arts
January 11, 2030 - February 27, 2026
Bachelor of Arts in Composition and Theories of Composition at Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2022

Qualifications

President’s Scholarship, Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2021 - February 27, 2026
Second Prize, Graduate Academic Achievement Award, Shandong Provincial Education Department
January 1, 2022 - February 27, 2026
Graduate Research and Artistic Practice Achievement Scholarship, Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2022 - February 27, 2026
First-Class Scholarship, Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2021
Second-Class Scholarship, Shandong University of Arts
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2019
Outstanding Graduate Award, Shandong Province
January 1, 2022 - February 27, 2026
President’s Scholarship
January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021
Second Prize, Graduate Academic Achievement Award
January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022
Graduate Research and Artistic Practice Achievement Scholarship
January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022
First-Class Scholarship
January 1, 2019 - January 1, 2021
Second-Class Scholarship
January 1, 2018 - January 1, 2019
Outstanding Graduate Award, Shandong Province
January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Education, Software & Internet, Professional Services, Other
    paper PoachersPride

    This composition examines the psychological disintegration of a young woman constrained by an imposed ideal of purity. Raised to embody an “angelic” perfection, she internalizes external expectations that gradually erode her sense of self, transforming guilt into a subtle mechanism of control. The music foregrounds timbre and texture over traditional melody, employing extended instrumental techniques—such as bowing on cymbals, multiphonics, sul ponticello, and prepared piano effects—to evoke fragile, artificial innocence. As the work unfolds, these sounds become increasingly distorted, unstable, and fragmented, generating an atmosphere of surveillance and predation. What once appeared “pure” dissolves into hollow, oppressive sonorities. The conclusion offers no conventional resolution; instead, it presents a stark clarity, revealing innocence as a construct and leaving a lucid recognition of the imposed damage, coupled with a quiet refusal to continue inhabiting that role.