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Julie Zhu

Assistant Professor

Department:  Performing Arts Technology,
Teaching Focus:  Electroacoustic Music, Intermedia Composition, Music + AI,

[email protected]
Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Organ, Harpsichord, and Carillon

Bio

Julie Zhu is a composer, artist, and carillonist. Technology – from artificial intelligence to live sound processing, sensors, and virtual reality – often support her work, which seeks to reveal and amplify underlying mathematical structures and gentle noises through innovative intermedia instrumentation and diverse chamber experiences.

Her music has been featured on Radio France’s Création Mondiale and at various institutions such as GMEM Festival Propagations Marseille, IRCAM Paris, ICST Zürich, Sansusī Latvia, Tetramatyka Lviv, Carnegie Hall, among others.

Zhu’s research on music and AI focuses on the project Deep Drawing, which tests the machine’s capabilities for bringing the intricate noises of drawing and writing to visual life. Other long term projects include Talking Pupils, a VR Opera centered on the experience of the visually impaired, and the Bell Resonator, a device to sustain the sound of the bell.

As a carillonist, Zhu regularly performs on the Burton and Lurie Tower at the University of Michigan and concertizes in the summer. During her time as a visual artist in New York City, she was the resident carillonneur at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue.

Education

BA (mathematics), Yale University
BA (art), Yale University
Licentiate (carillon), Royal Carillon School ‘Jef Denyn’
MFA (combined media), Hunter College
DMA (music composition), Stanford University

Selected Works

The Answers for string quartet (JACK quartet, 2020).

The Answers by Julie Zhu (2020)
Video produced by Kezia Yap.

Ornithologie for sheng, drawing board and electronics (Wu Wei, Alexis Baskind, Julie Zhu, 2024), commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture and GMEM.

Work issue from the research project – “Forest of Bamboos.”
Wu Wei (sheng master) – Alexis Baskind (musician, sound engineer, computer music designer) – Caty Olive (light design) – Paul Cameron (electronic conception) – Liao Lin-Ni (artistic direction, coordination)

tacocat for two performers and drawing board (Beyond This Point, 2025).

Performed by Beyond This Point
Frequency Fest 2025, Chicago

Composed by Julie Zhu

Updated on: 5/5/2025
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