Leia Zhengying Zhu (, born in October 2006) is a British-Chinese violinist.
Early life and education
Leia Zhengying Zhu was born in
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
, England, to Yanhong Bi
and a Chinese father.
She has a younger brother, Leo.
Zhu's grandmother gave her a violin when Zhu was age three,
after developing an interest in classical music inspired by her parents' listening habits. Zhu's father taught her how to hold the violin, and she first learned how to play "
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
"Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" is an English lullaby. The lyrics are from an early-19th-century English poem written by Jane Taylor, "The Star". The poem, which is in couplet form, was first published in 1806 in '' Rhymes for the Nursery'', a c ...
".
Zhu took weekly violin lessons with a female teacher for a few months,
and was advised to find someone who could further nurture her.
She spent the next two years changing violin teachers,
before settling on a teacher from the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
.
Zhu attended Fellside Community Primary School in
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...
,
and
St Edward's School in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
.
She graduated from St Edward's School in 2023, and achieved eight A* grades in the
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...
. Zhu is fluent in English and Chinese, and is learning French and German.
She completed a Level 4 Diploma for
Financial Advisers at the
London Institute of Banking & Finance in 2024.
Career and other ventures
Debuting at age four, Zhu's first public performance was at the North East Last Night of the Proms in
Newcastle City Hall
The Newcastle City Hall (currently known as O2 City Hall Newcastle for sponsorship reasons) is a concert hall located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has hosted many popular music and classical artists throughout the years, as well as sta ...
,
with around 2000 people in attendance.
She first performed overseas at the age of six, in nine cities throughout Spain.
In 2019, Zhu became the youngest artist to be managed by the London-based artist agency
HarrisonParrott
HarrisonParrott is an international artist and project management agency working in the field of classical music and the arts, with offices in London, Munich and Paris. It was founded in 1969 by Jasper Parrott and Terry Harrison.
Company histo ...
at age 12,
and the youngest artist-in-residence with the
London Mozart Players
London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon.
History Begin ...
in October 2021, at age 14. In December 2021, she performed a violin solo of "
You Raise Me Up
"You Raise Me Up" is a song composed by Rolf Løvland with lyrics by Brendan Graham. It was first recorded by Secret Garden, in collaboration with Brian Kennedy. Although the original version was not a major hit, the song has since been rec ...
" with
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
, which was livestreamed on
WeChat
WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...
and received 27 million views on the platform.
named Zhu as one of its group of 'Rising Stars 2022' artists. She was nominated in the Young Artist Award category at the
Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards in 2025.
Zhu has been involved in education outreach programmes established by London Mozart Players, promoting classical music to adolescents.
In 2020, she entered a partnership between
Google Arts and Culture
Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google.
It utilizes high-re ...
and HarrisonParrott on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
, introducing and performing works by
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (8 June 1812 – 8 October 1865) was a Moravian-Jewish violinist, violist and composer. He was seen as the outstanding violinist of his time and one of Niccolò Paganini's greatest successors. He contributed to polyphonic ...
. Zhu has shown an interest in
filmmaking
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
, having a film shortlisted at
CineMagic in 2020.
She published her autobiography titled ''Bows, Strings, and Dreams'' in October 2023.
References
External links
HarrisonParrott agency page on Leia ZhuLinkedIn profile of Leia Zhu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhu, Leia
British violinists
British women violinists
Living people
2006 births
21st-century British violinists
21st-century British musicians
21st-century British women musicians
21st-century classical musicians
Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne
Child classical musicians
British Asian musicians