Leia Zhu
British violinist Leia Zhu was born in October, 2006. At the age of four, she made her solo debut in the North East Last Night of the Proms in Newcastle City Hall in front of thousands. Since then, Leia has performed with eminent ensembles and orchestras across the globe. By the age of 12, she had performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls in more than 18 countries; at the same age in 2019, Leia became the youngest artist to be managed by the London based global agent HarrisonParrott At the age of 14, appointed Artist-in-Residence with the London Mozart Players in 2021, she embeds herself within the orchestra, performing as featured soloist, leading play/direct programmes and in chamber music. Leia also plays a crucial role in the orchestra’s community residencies in Croydon and Hastings, inspiring and motivating her peers through educational projects. Read More During pandemic, in August 2021, Leia was invited to performed Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint Saens with London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle of at BMW Classics. Thousands of audience in London Trafalgar Square watched the performance live while it was spontaneously live streamed worldwide. In December 2021, Zhu joined the Irish band Westlife in their WeChat live stream with 27 million views by performing a violin solo in ‘You Raise Me Up’. As a soloist, Leia works with many of the world’s finest orchestras to list but a few: London Symphony Orchestra Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Belgian National Orchestra Russian National Orchestra Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra The Symphony Orchestra at St Petersburg State Capella Festival Strings Lucerne Zurich Chamber Orchestra Russian State Symphony Orchestra Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra The Russian State Symphony Orchestra Odessa National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet London Mozart Players English Chamber Orchestra The Mariinsky Orchestra Leia has also been invited to perform at key festivals in the classical music calendar including Lucerne Festival Salzburg Festival MozartFest Würzburg Musical Olympus Festival White Nights Festival Trans-Siberian Art Festival Moscow Meets Friends Rheingau Musik Festival Some of the prestigious halls Leia has performed in include Tchaikovsky Concert Hall Mariinsky Theatre The Royal Festival Hall London Barbican Centre BOZAR in Brussels KKL Lucerne Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater Berlin Philharmonie Other notable places Zhu has performed to list but a few: London Trafalgar Square, Großer Saal Stiftung Mozarteum (Austria), Yehudi Menuhin Hall, European Parliament (Belgium), Odessa Philharmonic Theater (Ukraine), Würzburg Residence (Germany), Rapperswil Castle (Switzerland), Conservatorio di musica “Giuseppe Verdi” di Milano(Italy) Moscow Academic Musical Theater, Moscow International House of Music, Newcastle Cathedral, Hexham Abbey, Beverley Minster, London Milton Court, St John's Smith Square (London), Royal College of Music, Windsor Castle, Palais Brongniart(Paris), Harmonie Club (New York) For most up to date biography, please visit Leia Zhu on HarrisonParrott Leia is a Year 10 pupil, she is educated at a boarding school in Oxfordshire. Leia studies violin with Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky. She also regularly takes master classes with Professor Zakhar Bron.
