Zitong Zhan

Music Postgraduate Research Student

Project Title: The Many Ways Of Community Music In Supporting People On The Autism Spectrum In Mainland China

Supervisors: Dr Julia Partington and Dr Bennett Hogg

Zitong Zhan is a doctoral candidate in Music specializing in Music Education and playing a traditional Chinese instrument- Ruan. She has undergone sixteen years of instrumental learning within a master-apprentice setting in mainland China. She has also accumulated six years of instrumental teaching experience in private lessons and elementary school orchestras. These experiences made her aware of the limitations in the employment prospects for most music performance graduates in China and the inadequate educational skills.

 A four-year collaboration with autistic young musicians from outside the university in an inclusive band and studies in a broader realm of music education research and practice during a study abroad program in the UK, have fuelled my pursuit to explore and develop more flexible, inclusive, and supportive music practice methods. Starting from the cutting-edge points of community music and autism. My desire for my research career is not only to inspire music graduates who are uncertain about their careers but also to raise discussions in the Chinese music education academia on emerging topics concerning the potential of music for social inclusion, justice, and change.

 These experiences in music study, work, and practice have led me to continually ponder “What can we do through studying music?” It also guides my personal educational journey from a Bachelor of Music Performance to a Master of Arts in Music Education and now to my current doctoral research project in community music and autism.