MDI: Zhu Bei

Violinist Bei Zhu is active as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra player. Appointed by Music Director Edo de Waart at age 24, she is currently the Third Associate Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic.

A native of China, Bei Zhu began violin studies at the age of six. Only three years later, she was selected from among hundreds of applicants to study at the legendary Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and, in 1990, she was awarded to play the Mozart Violin Concerto No.4 with the China Youth Symphony Orchestra at Beijing Music Centre. In 1995, she came to the United States as a full scholarship student of Alice Shoenfeld at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California, where she received her High School Degree. In 1999, she awarded with another full scholarship at the Oberlin Conservatory to study with Almita Vamos and Roland Vamos, earning a Bachelor of Music degree. During her student years, she was chosen by Seiji Ozawa to be concertmaster at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Bei also won top prizes in numerous competitions, including the Maurice K. Parness Strings Competition, the Young Artists International Competition, the Spotlight Competition, the Kingsville Music Competition, and the Tuesday Music Club Competition. Bei has been the recipient of many fellowship to prominent music festivals, among them Tanglewood, Aspen, La Jolla Music Society, Spoleto USA, and Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara.