A B O U T U S
Emily Zhao founded the Sound of Wishes Ensemble (SoWE) in 2017 with co-founders Sophia Zhao and Angela Wang. From its initial small group of Guzheng musicians, Sound of Wishes has always been dedicated to cultivating cultural diversity and helping under-resourced kids in the community.
Every year, SoWE performs all throughout the Chicagoland area, with the goal of raising awareness for Eastern Asian culture and music. In addition, we are active on our Youtube channel and offer Guzheng music lessons as well in hopes of inspiring others to learn, listen, and value Eastern music.
Through various fundraisers, scholarships, and donations, SoWE has raised over $36,000 for organizations committed to providing relief for kids with limited opportunities, such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, Feeding America, and the Lurie Children's Hospital.
Completely run by young adults, Sound of Wishes is officially regiestered as a 501c3 certified Nonprofit Organization. All donations and other proceeds go directly toward our mission.
For performance, Guzheng lessons or contact inquiries, please visit our "Guzheng Lessons" page.
L e a r n m o r e a b o u t e a c h d i v i s i o n h e r e !
A p p l y b e l o w .
O U R T E AM
Applications
APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW!
If you are interested in joining our team for any of the five divisions (see above), please fill out this brief FORM!
We will get back to you to discuss your membership in greater detail.
Meet the Team!
Angela Wang
Co-Founder/President
Musical Performance
Angela is currently a senior in high school. She has been playing guzheng for eight years .In her spare time, she enjoys edits videos, for both SoWE and school projects. She's a member of Chicago Children’s Choir’s and a Tzu Shao volunteer for the Tzu Chi Foundation. She also enjoys Chinese dance, hurdles, plays volleyball and badminton.
Jasmine Fong
Vice President
Musical Performance
Jasmine is currently a senior at Lane Tech High School. She has been learning Gu Zheng for seven years as a student of SoWE founder, Emily Zhao. Along with Guzheng, Jasmine runs Children Cancer Club at Lane Tech. In her spare time, she enjoys learning about the different cultures of the world and traveling to different places, such as Barcelona, Madrid, Granada, Thailand, Mexico, Hong Kong, and more!
Mika Chang
Vice President
Musical Performance
Mika is a high school senior who has been passionately playing the violin for 9 years. Whether it’s making music in an orchestra, through her music cover YouTube channel, or by mixing her East Asian heritage with her traditionally Western instrument through the Sound of Wishes Ensemble performances, Mika is always looking to share her passions with the world. You can also find her involved in playing badminton, mastering the Chinese Yoyo, or content creating for her music comedy Instagram page.
Jocelyn Lin
Musical Performance
Jocelyn is currently a sophomore in high school. She has been playing the violin for ten years. She also likes playing badminton and oil painting.
Jingshu Xu
Musical Performance
Communications Department
Jingshu Xu (Angie) is a sophomore in high school. She is very good at playing the Hulusi flute, which is a very unique traditional Chinese instrument. Jingshu has been performing for over 8 years. Other than this instrument, Jingshu also enjoys drawing and animating various projects.
Andrew Luo
JV Musical Performance
Communications Director
Andrew is currently a junior attending Naperville Central High School. He has been playing the guzheng for four years. He is interested in Chinese culture, including arts, food, and music. In his spare time, he likes to solve mathematics problems, practice for SoWE projects and workout in the gym.
Sophia Lu
JV Musical Performance
Film Production
Sofie is currently a freshman in high school. She has been playing Guzheng for almost four years. In her spare time, she likes to sing and run cross country.
美琳
JV Musical Performance
Communications Department
美琳 is a 13-year-old with 3-4 years of experience playing the Guzheng, and she has passed the Level Five China National Orchestra Society Test. She is a creative person, she practices martial arts, and she engages in debates/leadership type activities. 美琳 is apart of her leadership team at school and is apart of the nationwide NJHS (National Junior Honor Society) program. She is currently Angela Wang's student.
Arthur Cai
Director of Film Production
Richard Wang
IT Director
Richard is currently a junior at Walter Payton College Prep and is learning to play the piano. He is heavily involved within the school's Asian American community. He enjoys listening to music and playing sports such as badminton and basketball in his free time.
Amy Yan
Film Production
Amy is currently an 8th grader. She enjoys exploring about different new technologies, playing violin and cooking.
George Yang
IT Department
George is currently a seventh grader at Kennedy Junior High School. In his free time, he likes playing the piano, swimming, reading, and hanging out with his friends.
Board of Directors
Sound of Wishes' official 501c3 Nonprofit Core Board of Directors:
President: Angela Wang
Vice Presidents: Jasmine Fong & Mika Chang
Treasurer: Guang Shi
Secretary: Hui He
Legal Officer: Xin Zhang
Marketing Officer: Stella Fong
Directors:
Communications: Andrew Luo
IT: Richard Wang
Film Production: Arthur Cai
ALUMNI
2022 Graduates
EMILY ZHAO
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
Northwestern University
ELI XU
TECHNOLOGY LEAD
Tsinghua University
2023 Graduates
DANIEL WANG
VP & FILM PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
United States Air Force Academy
MAX YANG
VP & IT DIRECTOR
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
2024 Graduates
SOPHIA ZHAO
CO-FOUNDER, PRESIDENT
University of Georgia
