Simon Zhu is an aspiring young violinist with a versatile repertoire. Born in Tübingen in 2001, he received his first violin lessons at the age of 6. His exceptional talent was recognized early on and he soon began taking lessons from renowned violin professors. He studied at the Mozarteum Salzburg, Austria with Wonji Kim-Ozim and Professor Tomasz Tomaszewski at the Julius Stern Institute of the University of the Arts in Berlin. He is currently studying with Prof. Ana Chumachenco at the Munich University of Music and Theater and receiving private lessons from Ning Feng. ​

Master classes with professors such as Wolfgang Marschner, Rainer Kussmaul, Boris Kuschnir, Petru Munteanu, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, Igor Ozim, Ingolf Turban and Paul Roczek rounded off his musical education. ​His successes are remarkable.

In addition to numerous first prizes in the “Jugend musiziert” competition, in 2016 he won first prize at the 13th International Georg Philipp Telemann Competition in Poznan, Poland, with the award for the best interpretation of a fantasy for solo violin by Georg Philipp Telemann. In 2016 he also received the Bruno Frey Music Prize from the Bruno Frey Foundation, Ochsenhausen. ​

In 2017 he was awarded first prize at the 17th International Violin Competition in Schöntal Monastery, including a special prize for the best interpretation of a virtuoso piece and the Reinhold Würth Promotion Prize. Recent competition successes include first prize at the 34th International Violin Competition Valsesia Musica (2018), first prize at the Zhuhai Mozart Competition (2019) and first prize at the 7th International Chamber Music Competition Bydgoszcz (2020) with his duo partner Adam Tomaszewski. ​In May 2021, he won second prize at the Menuhin Competition in Richmond, Virginia, as well as the Mozart Prize and the European Community EMCY Award for his outstanding performance at the Menuhin Competition.

In October 2023, he won 1st prize at the 2023 International Violin Competition “Premio Paganini” in Genoa, Italy, and the special prize for the best Paganini concerto, as well as a number of important concert engagements—including the rare opportunity to perform on Paganini's own violin “Il Cannone” by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù from 1743.

Simon Zhu made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2015 and has performed there several times since then as a soloist with orchestra. He was a guest at the International Young Masters Violin Festival on Lake Constance and is a scholarship holder of the Menuhin Festival & Academy. He has given concerts in Germany, England, France, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Korea and China and performed with prestigious orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Antonio Pappano, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields England, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists.

October 15, 2024 is an important moment in recorded history. Simon performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Antonio Pappano at the Guildhall in London, England, using the II Cannone that Paganini used during his lifetime. His Majesty the King Charles III attended the concert and received him after the concert.

In the coming season, Simon Zhu will perform for the first time with the London Symphony Orchestra, Teatro alla Scala Orchestra, Teatro Fenice Orchestra, Maggio Musicale Florence, May Music Festival Orchestra, Orchestra of the Grand Theatre of San Carlo and Marseille Philharmonic Orchestra, Tianjin Symphony, Wuhan Philharmonic, China Philharmonic, Guangzhou Symphony Cooperation. He will also give concerts in famous theatres such as La Scala in Milan, Dubai Opera, Oman Opera House, British Guildhall, Madrid Prado Museum and Teatro San Carlo in Naples. ​Simon is a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and takes part in the academy's intensive weeks and activities. Since 2016 he has been a scholarship holder of the German Music Foundation. He was an academic at the Hope Music Academy and at the Walter Stauffer Academy Cremona, where he worked with Salvatore Accardo.

Simon is playing an important violin by Zosimo Bergonzi, Cremona c. 1760, a generous loan by a member of the Stretton Society.