Zhan Shu joined the first violin section of The Cleveland Orchestra with the start of the 2018-19 season. Since 2014, he has been a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He was previously a member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where he served as acting associate
concertmaster for the 2008-09 season. He also served as concertmaster of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and Symphony of Southeast Texas, and as guest concertmaster of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra in Iowa, Xi’an Symphony Orchestras in China, and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra in Germany. In 2021 Mr. Shu held an Adjunct Assistant Professorship at the Jacob School of Music, Indiana University.
Mr. Shu has appeared as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University Philharmonic, Texas Music Festival Orchestra, Mannes Orchestra, and the Hunan Symphony Orchestra in China. He has also participated in the Sarasota Music Festival, Pacific Music festival, Toronto Summer Music Festival and Vietnam Connection Music Festival.
A native of China, Mr. Shu received his early training from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He holds a bachelor of music degree from Mannes College of Music, where he studied with Lucie Robert, and received a master’s of music from the University of Houston under Emanuel
Borok. He was subsequently a recipient of the Josef Gingold and Jascha Heifetz Scholarships from Indiana University, where he was an artist diploma student under the guidance of Mauricio Fuks and Alexander Kerr.
Mr. Shu plays on a beautiful French violin made in 1874 by J. B. Vuillaume.