Zhao Shun Guo was born in Tienjin, China in 1954. He graduated from the Tienjin Music Academy in 1978. He went on to win first prize for his performance on the Pipa at the Central Television Competition (1987) and the Chinese Classical Instrument Competition (1991). He became a member of the Pipa Association and in 2000 was invited to perform abroad by the Chinese American Cultural Exchange Program. Over the next three years, his performances included the venues of Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as a collaboration with the Chinese Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He has performed with Xi Su Fang and the Chinese Peking Opera in 2001. In May 2005, he performed in H.T. Chen & Dancers’ Heart of Grace production at the Dance Theater Workshop.