Lauded by The Washington Post as a “real star,” Qi Cao has performed widely as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra musician throughout China, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, appearing at prestigious concert halls such as New York City’s Carnegie Hall and Washington, D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts—both in the Concert Hall and on the Millennium Stage. Cao has been featured in numerous reviews, including The Washington Post, the Wisconsin State Journal, the Capital Times, the Times-Picayune, the Well-Tempered Ear, the Score Newsletter, the Singapore Embassy Newsletter, the Straits Times (Singapore), and Instep magazine (Singapore).
Cao joined the North Carolina Symphony beginning with the 2018/19 season. She has been a violinist at the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Colorado Music Festival. Cao has a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in music from Yale University.
In 2025, Cao swept the Maestro Absolute Award and Gold Prizes in both romantic period and concerto categories at Classical Stars International Music Competition; she also won Platinum Awards at both the Mozart International Music Competition and Fenix Award International Music Competition and was featured by the Universal Maestro Society’s Maestro Magazine.
Cao has also won first prizes in numerous competitions including the Emerging Artist Competition in Monroe, the National Piano and Violin Competition in Singapore, the Schubert Club Bruce P. Carlson Competition in Minneapolis, the Wisconsin American String Teachers Association (ASTA) Solo Competition, the Connecticut ASTA Solo Competition, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Concerto Competition, and the Kennedy Center/NSO Summer Institute Concerto Competition. Cao received the International String Player Award at the Gisborne International Music Competition in New Zealand.
Cao previously served as the assistant principal violinist at the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra; as guest concertmaster in the Young Artists Orchestra of Las Vegas, the Kennedy Center/NSO Summer Music Institute, Australia Summer Orchestra Institute, and Norfolk Chamber Choir Institute; and as principal second violin at the Round Top Festival in Texas. She has also participated in the Colorado Music Festival (U.S), Pacific Music festival (Japan), the Orford Music Academy (Canada), Singapore International Festival of Arts (Singapore), and Shanghai Spring International Music Festival (China).
Cao is currently a coach at North Carolina Chamber Music Institution and Triangle Youth Music. She previously served as a violin and recorder teacher for the Link-Up outreach program at the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and as a strings faculty member for the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra Summer Music Festival. She has taught at the Esperanza School, KIPP New Orleans Leadership Academy, Community Music Lesson Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Foote School in New Haven, and Motivate Music School in Singapore. Cao has given multiple presentations and lecture recitals in New York, Madison, New Orleans, and Shanghai. She frequently serves as a jury for auditions and competitions in the United States. In 2024, she was included in the biographical publication Marquis Who’s Who in America.