Alex Chao is an Ensemble Member, the Artistic Director, and the Founder of Bridge Percussion.

As an orchestral percussionist, Alex has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, and Grant Park Festival Orchestra, and currently holds positions in the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra as a Section Percussionist and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago as a Regular Member. In 2021, he placed 3rd in Division I of the Modern Snare Drum Competition. Alex is also a performing member of the Rhythm Messengers, a professional drumline in Chicago and the resident drumline for DJ duo Two Friends, whom he has accompanied at Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and North Coast Music Festival. He is a former snare drummer of the Chicago Bulls Stampede Drumline and The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps.

As an educator, Alex is the former Percussion Ensemble Director of the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory. He also previously served as a Civic Mentor, where he worked with the percussion programs at Lincoln Park High School and Northside College Prep. For the past 2 summers, Alex has served as a Battery Instructor at River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps. Outside of music, Alex works part time as a Computer Science Patent Analyst and enjoys cooking, playing soccer, and swimming in Lake Michigan.

Alex holds a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and a Bachelor and Master of Science in Computer Science from Northwestern University. His teachers include She-e Wu, Cynthia Yeh, Christopher Lamb, Eric Millstein, and Vadim Karpinos.