Di Zhao graduated from Wuhan Conservatory, after which he played at the Hunan Broadcast Orchestra for two years as its principal flutist. In 1984 he became the principal flutist at the National Ensemble Orchestra of China in Beijing, a post that he held until 1990 when he came to the United States to pursue his Master’s Degree at Indiana University. In 1992 he attended West Iowa Technical College, the noted repair school, where he enrolled in the program of Band Instrument repair. At the end of 1992, Mr. Zhao was hired to work for Verne Q. Powell Flutes, beginning his nearly 25-year flute making career. During his 13 years at Powell, Mr. Zhao mastered all aspects of flute production, working as a padder, headjoint maker, stringer, and body maker. In 2002, he was promoted to Powell's Vice President of Quality. Since working at Powell, Mr. Zhao has also served as Vice President and General Manager at William S. Haynes Flutes. He has worked as a consultant for many other companies, most notably helping establish the Powell Sonare and Haynes Amadeus factories in China, all the while continuing to produce excellent high-quality flutes. Now Mr. Zhao has started his own flute business, opening his own factory to produce the best quality flutes for the next generation. Combining the centuries of experience and knowledge of Boston's finest flute makers with the modern day production techniques of the world's leading instrument factories, Di Zhao Flutes produces the finest instruments available on the market.
All Di Zhao instruments are made with careful attention to precision in the Tianjin factory in China. The workers are all superbly trained directly by Mr. Zhao. Di Zhao's flutes are all padded with Pisoni pads and are partially shimmed like professional flutes, and all instruments achieve smooth key action, fast response, and excellent resonance. All headjoints are handcut with undercuts and overcuts, making the sound quality full and easy to play.