As a soloist, Zhi was invited twice by MTNA to perform in their master class series. In 2011, he was chosen to represent Oberlin Conservatory with his performance at the Kennedy Center, and later invited as the guest pianist performing at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. In 2013, Mr. Qiao's performance of Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto with the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra cultivated his status. This performance was also broadcasted worldwide, which was regarded as one of the most "electrifying concerts" at Oberlin. In 2015, Mr. Qiao was selected to perform Scriabin's 10th sonata for the centennial of his death. In addition to his concert performances, Mr. Qiao also won various prizes from prestigious competitions. In 2002, Mr. Qiao won the Third Prize of the Adolescent Class B in the Tchaikovsky Piano Music Competition in Hong Kong. In 2011, he won the First Prize in the Danenberg Honors Recital competition and Rudolf Serkin competition. In 2012, he won the First Prize in the concerto competition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. During his studies in the United States, Mr. Qiao was awarded as one of the certified members of the Pi Kappa Lambda.

Zhi Qiao was born in Anyang. He began his formal piano studies with his father at the age of seven. He graduated from the Primary Music School Attached to the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and the Music School Attached to the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where he studied with Professor Lianping Zhu, Liping Jiang (Wuhan Conservatory), and Xinning Zhang (Central Conservatory). In 2009, he was accepted into the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied under the tutelage of Professor Peter Takacs and Professor Monique Duphil for chamber music. In 2016, Mr. Qiao got his Master's degree in piano performance from the New England Conservatory, studying under Professor Wha Kyung Byun. Currently, he is a faculty of the piano department at the Wuhan Conservatory.