About Us

Sophia Moxuan Zhang is a pianist, violinist, and student researcher based in Edmonton, Alberta. She co-founded Music Semplice in 2022 to bring live performances to senior communities and encourage young musicians to share their talents beyond the concert stage.

Music and Performance

Sophia earned her ARCT Associate Diploma in Piano Performance at age 13, receiving a regional first-place distinction for the highest examination mark. The following year, she received the RCM Level 10 Violin Regional Gold Medal for Midwest Canada.

Her piano achievements include third place at the Canadian Music Competition National Finals, first place at the 2024 North America Pacific Rim International Music Festival Piano Competition Finals, first prize in the International Music Competition of Best Rachmaninoff Performance, and first place in Piano Concerto at the 2025 Alberta Music Festival.

Sophia joined the Edmonton Youth Orchestra at age 11 and has received several music scholarships and awards, including the Nadine Thiruchelvam Scholarship, Pamela Farmer Scholarship, Alberta Ukrainian Commemorative Society Piano Scholarship, and Symphony Women's Educational Assistance Award.

Scientific Research

Beyond music, Sophia conducts research in Earth science, particularly paleoclimatology and the relationship between astronomical cycles and past climate variability.

In 2026, she published a first-author research paper in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, examining Pliocene East Asian monsoon variability and its possible astronomical influences. She has also contributed to research published in Geological Society of America Bulletin and International Geology Review.

Her research has been presented at international scientific conferences, including the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

Public Writing and Disaster Risk Reduction

Sophia also writes about environmental risks and the ways scientific evidence can inform public understanding and disaster preparedness.

In September 2026, her article, "Who is missing? Planning for people passing through high-risk corridors," was published in the DRR Community Voices series on PreventionWeb, a knowledge platform managed by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

The article examines how cross-border travel can complicate disaster response, missing-person identification, and emergency planning. It argues for better information-sharing arrangements to help authorities account for people affected by disasters across international borders.

Earlier that month, Sophia also published a commentary in the Edmonton Journal examining Himalayan disaster risk and how changing human exposure can affect the consequences of natural hazards.

Through both her research and public writing, she hopes to make scientific evidence accessible to audiences beyond academia.

Beyond Music

Sophia also enjoys mathematics, science competitions, and competitive water skiing. Her achievements include recognition in the AMC mathematics competition, a silver award at the 2025 Edmonton Science Fair, and a gold award at the 2025 APEGA Science Olympics. She is a member of the Junior Elite Water Ski Team and has earned provincial U17 placements and titles.

Passionate, cheerful and easy-going, young pianist ZiJia (Jaydon) Zhuang obtained his ARCT Diploma and got the first prizes in Edmonton for both ARCT Piano and Analysis.

His other accomplishments include winning the Grand Prize of the 2023 Canadian Music Competition in the 11-14 years old category, 2nd place in the Western Canada Music Competition of 2023, 1st place at both the piano concerto and piano 14 and under classes in the 2023 Alberta Provincial Music Festival, multiple first prizes and scholarships in the Edmonton Music and Speech Arts Festival.

He played his first orchestral performance in 2023 with the Calgary Civic Orchestra, and won the Gold Award under the youth category of the Pacific Rim International Music Festival.

Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Jaydon showed a great interest in music from an early age. Over the years, Jaydon has been pursuing his dream of becoming a concert pianist, exploring the beauty of classical music and spreading the joy of it to the world.