C.E.O & Artistic Director

Zi Lan Liao is a musician, educator, and cultural leader whose work spans Chinese traditional music, cross-cultural performance, and arts education. She serves as CEO of Pagoda Arts in a voluntary capacity and as Music Director of the organisation and the Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra (PCYO).

Born in Guangzhou, China, Zi Lan began studying the guzheng at the age of three. At the age of twelve, she received national recognition in China and later appeared as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall School Proms (1988). She moved to the UK at thirteen to continue her musical education at Chetham’s School of Music and subsequently the Royal Academy of Music, where she specialised in Western concert harp while continuing her training in Chinese traditional music and dance. This combined training has informed her cross-cultural approach to performance and education.

Zi Lan has performed internationally across Europe, the USA, Australia, and Asia, appearing at festivals including WOMAD, the Edinburgh Festival, and the World Harp Festival. She premiered The River Guzheng Concerto with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and later returned to perform with the RLPO at the Shanghai World Expo (2010). Her collaboration with Jah Wobble on Chinese Dub received the Songlines Award for Best Cross-Cultural Collaboration (2009).

Zi Lan became CEO of Pagoda Arts in 2011 and Music Director of PCYO in 2013. Under her leadership, the organisation has sustained its artistic and educational programmes through periods of austerity and the COVID-19 pandemic, while continuing to support youth development and cultural engagement. She remains committed to mentoring emerging musicians and educators and to advancing cultural understanding through music and education.

Zi Lan is also a certified Chinese–English translator and continues to connect cultures through language, music and community service.