Leia Zhu
Zhu in June 2019
Born	Leia Zhengying Zhu October 2006 (age 17) Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Occupation	Violinist
Years active	2012–present
Website	leiazhu.info

Leia Zhengying Zhu ( Chinese: 朱蕾雅, born in October 2006) is a British violinist. In 2019, she became the youngest artist to be managed by the London-based artist agency HarrisonParrott and is a Young Artist-in-Residence with the London Mozart Players. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life and education

Leia Zhengying Zhu ^[3] was born in October 2006, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, to Yanhong Bi ^[4] and a Chinese father. ^[5] She also has a younger brother named Leo. ^[6] Zhu was given a violin by her grandmother at the age of three after being interested in classical music, ^{[7] [8]} which her parents often listened to. ^[9] Her first public performance was at the North East Last Night of the Proms an Newcastle City Hall, at four years old. ^[5]

Zhu attended Fellside Community Primary School in Gateshead, ^[4] and St Edward's School in Oxford. ^{[5] [8]} She is fluent in English and Chinese, and is learning French and German. ^[8]

Career and other ventures

Zhu first performed overseas at the age of six in Spain. ^{[4] [8]} She has performed with ensembles such as the Belgian National Orchestra, ^{[10] [11]} Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, ^[12] Festival Strings Lucerne, ^[13] Russian State Symphony Orchestra, ^{[14] [15]} Mariinsky Orchestra, ^{[16] [17]} and English Chamber Orchestra, ^[18] and at overseas venues and festivals including Salzburg Festival, ^[19] Rheingau Musik Festival, ^[20] Royal Festival Hall, ^[21] Barbican Centre, ^[22] Cadogan Hall London, ^[18] Berlin Philharmonie, ^[23] and Queen Elizabeth Hall. ^[24]

In 2019, Zhu became the youngest artist to be managed by the London-based artist agency HarrisonParrott, ^[2] and Youngest Artist in Residence with the London Mozart Players in 2021. ^{[8] [25]} She performed a violin solo of " You Raise Me Up" with Irish boy band Westlife during a 2021 livestream. ^[5]

Zhu has been involved in education outreach programmes established by London Mozart Players, promoting classical music to young people. ^{[7] [8]} In 2020, she entered a partnership between Google Arts and Culture and HarrisonParrott on YouTube, introducing and performing works by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst. ^{[26] [27]} Zhu has also shown interest in filmmaking, having a film shortlisted at CineMagic in 2020. ^{[5] [6]} She published her autobiography titled Bows, Strings, and Dreams in October 2023. ^[28]

References