Jessica Zhu (born October 22, 1986) is a Chinese-American pianist who is currently undertaking a doctorate in musical arts (DMA) under the supervision of Paul Roberts and Caroline Rae at the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
, in London. She previously received a Master in Performance (MPerf) and an Artist Diploma with distinction from the Guildhall, where she studied with full scholarship as a 2009
Marshall Scholar
The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...
.
Having made her debut at age 19 with the
Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.
History
The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, ...
in Jones Hall, she has soloed with numerous orchestras, including the Clear Lake Symphony, the Irving Symphony in Dallas, Fort Worth Civic Symphony, Brazos Valley Symphony in College Station, the Moores School Symphony Orchestra, and the Houston Civic Symphony.
Zhu has also performed at the Texas Music Festival, Aspen Summer Festival in Colorado and the Banff Arts Centre in Canada. She has been featured on ABC Television Network KTRK Channel-13 ''Visions'' program and KUHF 88.7 FM radio ''The Front Row'' arts magazine.
Early life and education
Zhu was born in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, China, where she began her musical study. At age 11, she moved with her family to
Sugar Land
Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...
, Texas, near
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
, where she studied piano for six years with John Weems. After graduating Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land, she completed her undergraduate studies in 2009 summa cum laude from the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...
(
Moores School of Music
The Rebecca and John J. Moores School of Music is the music school of the University of Houston. The Moores School offers the Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of Arts in Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in music performance ...
), where she studied with renowned pianist-pedagogue Nancy Weems.
Zhu has been invited to participate in master classes of pianists such as
Pascal Rogé
Pascal Rogé (born 6 April 1951) is a French pianist.
His playing includes the works of compatriot composers Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and Poulenc, among others. However, his repertoire also covers the German and Austrian ...
,
Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt, (born July 26, 1958) is a Canadian classical pianist. She is best known for her Bach interpretations.
Career
Hewitt was born in Ottawa, Ontario, daughter of the Yorkshire-born Godfrey Hewitt (thus she also has British nationality ...
,
Anton Kuerti
Anton Emil Kuerti, OC (born July 21, 1938) is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. He has developed international recognition as a solo pianist.Stanislav Ioudenitch,
Antonio Pompa-Baldi
Antonio Pompa-Baldi (born December 1, 1974) is an Italian-American pianist. Described by Donald Rosenberg of ''The Plain Dealer'' as "a musician of myriad superlative qualities" and by Allan Kozinn of ''The New York Times'' as a "a poised, assured ...
Abbey Simon
Abbey Henry Simon (January 8, 1920 – December 18, 2019) was an American concert pianist, teacher, and recording artist. He was a protégé of Josef Hofmann at the Curtis Institute of Music and a winner of the Naumburg International Piano Comp ...
In April 2010, Zhu performed with the Worthing Symphony Orchestra in Sussex under the baton of John Gibbons. A frequent guest recitalist, she has been invited to perform for the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy in Chicago in July 2009.
Zhu has also performed recitals for the Rockport Performing Arts Series in Rockport, Texas, the San Antonio Tuesday Musical Club, Missouri State University Fite Family Music Festival Young Artist Series, the McKinney Musical Arts Society in Dallas, the Wichita Falls Symphony League's ''First Night in the Falls'' Arts Festival. As the grand-prize winner of the Texas Entergy Young Artist Competition in 2006, she gave her debut recital in Zilkha Hall of the
Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts is a theater in Houston, Texas, United States. Opened to the public in 2002, the theater is located downtown on the edge of the Houston Theater District. Hobby Center features glass walls with views ...
in downtown Houston.
Competitions and prizes
Zhu won the First Prize at the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition 2011. She is also a laureate of the Sussex International Piano Competition 2010, receiving Third Prize and the Audience Prize."A 'thrilling' finale is assured in Worthing", Shoreham Herald, 10 April 2010 (se article Named the National Winner of the Young Artist Piano Competition of the 2008 Music Teachers National Association piano competitions in Denver, she received a Steinway & Sons grand piano. Zhu was also first-prize winner of the 2008 San Antonio Tuesday Musical Club Young Artist Competition and the silver medalist in the 2004 Junior Isabel Scionti Piano Solo Competition.