The artist behind
the sound

Zhiyu Qiu

Cellist

Born in 2006, Zhiyu Qiu is a cellist currently studying at the Musikhochschule Lübeck in Germany with Professor Troels Svane. He previously graduated from the primary and secondary schools affiliated with the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

He began studying the cello in 2014 with Wenbin Geng, Associate Professor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2017, he was admitted to the conservatory’s affiliated primary school, where he studied with Professor Jiwu Li, a distinguished cello educator, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music (FRAM) and doctoral supervisor at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

He was selected to be a student of the Jian Wang&Jiwu Li Cello Studio in the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 2022. There, he studied with Professor Jian Wang, an internationally renowned cellist and doctoral supervisor at the conservatory, and Professor Jiwu Li.

During his studies, he received multiple school scholarships and First Prize in Shanghai’s 35th Junyuan Awards. In 2018, he was selected for the Shanghai Conservatory of Music’s “Yincai Zhufei” talent support programme and presented a solo recital.

Representing the conservatory’s affiliated primary and secondary schools, he has performed at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music International Cello Festival, anniversary concerts of the conservatory and its affiliated secondary school, and the affiliated secondary school’s “Stars of the Future” concert in the Xingguanghui series.

His competition achievements include First Prize in the junior category of the 7th National Youth Cello Competition in 2018, and Second Prize in the junior category of the 8th David Popper International Cello Competition for Young Musicians in Hungary in 2019.

He has been selected to participate in international festivals including the Rutesheim Cello Festival and has attended major international cello festivals, receiving guidance and recognition from leading cellists and educators including Wen-Sinn Yang, David Strange and Jo Cole.