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From Idea to Final Recording: Behind the Scenes Roles in Contemporary Music Creation
Music at Noon concert featuring Jinting Zhao, SHE-Q Audio
Feb. 10 | 12:15 p.m.
University Recital Hall
Free admission, everyone welcome

When we listen to a recorded piece of music, we often imagine a composer writing and a performer playing—but much of modern music is shaped by creative work that happens behind the scenes.

In this unconventional recital, songwriter, producer and audio engineer Jinting Zhao shares a series of real-world case studies of each of these three distinct and crucial roles in modern recorded music. 

Drawing from projects that span commercial pop music, musical theatre, and music for film, Jinting demonstrates how her songwriting, production, and mixing practices each transform musical ideas in different ways. Through guided walkthroughs of studio sessions, audiences will see how an English-language song becomes a major Japanese release, how production shapes storytelling in a theatrical soundtrack, and how remixing and mixing can radically reframe existing material. No musical background is required—this is an accessible, behind-the-scenes look at how records are really made.

About the artist

Jinting Zhao is a producer, songwriter, and audio engineer based out of acclaimed hiphop recording studio Up In Arms in Edmonton, Alberta. In 2025, she co-wrote songs on Koichi Domoto’s album “RAISE”, charting at #1 on Japan’s Oricon charts. In addition, she received a Sterling Award nomination as a co-producer and audio engineer of the cast soundtrack and recording of the Indigenous musical theatre hit Bear Grease. Jinting is the founder of SHE-Q Audio, a national organization supporting women and non-binary producers and engineers. She regularly speaks and educates on music production and technology, including at CBC Radio, the National Association of Music Merchants, Canada’s Music Incubator, and the Society for Music Production Research. In 2025 she was nominated as Changemaker of the Year by Women in Music Canada and received a University of Alberta Alumni Award.