The Tianjin Juilliard School is pleased to announce the appointment of acclaimed violinist, Nancy Zhou as resident faculty. She will teach in the Graduate Studies program and Pre-College, beginning September 2026. She brings a wealth of knowledge, passion, and artistry to Tianjin Juilliard's programs.
The Tianjin Juilliard School is a true beacon of multiculturalism and a vital cultural voice in today’s world. I’m deeply honored to become part of this vibrant community, and together with students and colleagues, we will continue to explore critical thinking and the profound power of music to express our shared humanity.
Nancy Zhou
More than 20 years since her orchestral debut, Zhou has collaborated with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, San Diego Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony, among others. A passionate soloist and educator, Zhou has performed at festivals, including the Verbier Festival, Tongyeong Music Festival, and Marvão Festival, and given many master classes and workshops.
Over the years, the violinist’s deep interest in cultural heritage and the humanities has been reflected in a series of notable collaborations across the U.S. and China. In collaboration with the New Jersey Symphony and conductor Xian Zhang, she presented Zhao Jiping’s first violin concerto at Alice Tully Hall and gave the premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Gran Cadenza for two violins with Anne-Sophie Mutter across the US; and, in partnership with the La Jolla Symphony, gave the West Coast premiere of Vivian Fung’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Most recently, she performed Chen Qigang’s La joie de la souffrance with the Rogue Valley Symphony and embarked on a five-city tour with major orchestras of China, including Shanghai and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestras, and the China and Hohhot Philharmonics. In October 2024, she recorded her debut album, STORIES (re)TRACED, as a response to these artistic explorations. The critically acclaimed album features four seminal and inextricably connected works for solo violin, including Béla Bartók’s Sonata, and was released in June 2025 on Orchid Classics.
Zhou has earned numerous top honors throughout her career. In 2018, she was awarded First Prize at the International Music Competition Harbin. Later that year, she claimed First Prize at the prestigious Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition.
Born in Texas, Nancy Zhou hails from a family of musicians and began the violin under the guidance of her father. She went on to study with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory while pursuing her interest in literature at Harvard University. Since 2019, she has served as an Associated Artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and from 2023-2026, was Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Learn more about Nancy Zhou here.