Karisa Chiu & Zhu Wang
Biography Karisa Chiu & Zhu Wang
Karisa Chiu
Renowned for her “easy virtuosity ... humor, nuance ... [and] playful[ness]” (Cleveland Classical), American violinist Karisa Chiu first came to international prominence with her first prize win at the 2021 Isangyun Violin Competition, resulting in her debut with the KBS Symphony Orchestra at the Seoul Arts Center. She has since gone on to solo in some of the most renowned concert halls around the world such as Severance Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the Casals Forum, and has been featured as a soloist with ensembles such as the Munich Radio Orchestra, Tongyeong Festival Orchestra, Asheville Symphony, and Montgomery Symphony. A top prize winner of the Menuhin, Leopold Mozart, Stulberg, and Irving M. Klein Competitions, Karisa continues to earn recognition for her expressive depth and technical command. As the recipient of the 2025 Gerschen Cohen Award, she will make her Carnegie Hall recital debut in Weill Hall in spring 2026.
Raised in a musical family, Karisa began her studies at age two with her father, Cornelius Chiu, a first violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She collaborates frequently with her mother and uncle, pianists Inah Chiu and Frederic Chiu. The Chiu family has given annual concerts for two decades at the Festival of the Arts at Mohonk Mountain House. Her debut album, Home, recorded with pianist Zhu Wang, will be released by Cedille Records in fall 2025. In an exploration of the definition of belonging, the album traces her musical journey through the lens of family and the ties that have shaped her.
In addition to her solo career, Karisa is a passionate chamber musician. She is co-director of the Plymouth Chamber Players based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an innovative chamber music collective that inspires new audiences through world-class concerts and supports young artists in the West Michigan area. Karisa has collaborated with esteemed musicians such as Jaime Laredo, Kathryn Brown, Todd Phillips, James Austin Smith, Ida Kavafian, and Colin Carr. As the first violinist of the Tesoro Quartet, formed at the Cleveland Institute of Music, Karisa received the honor of the Sidney D. and Nina Josephs Chamber Music Prize upon graduation. In other chamber groups, she has won top prizes at the Saint Paul, Fischoff, and M-Prize competitions. Karisa has performed in many chamber music festivals around the globe including Ravinia Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, and Music from Angel Fire.
Karisa is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Catherine Cho and Donald Weilerstein. She received her Master’s degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she was named the recipient of the Anna Y. Tringas Award for an exceptional violinist, and she previously earned her Bachelor’s degree from the Curtis Institute of Music. Her preceding mentors include Jaime Laredo, Malcolm Lowe, Ida Kavafian, and Almita Vamos.
Zhu Wang
Praised as “especially impressive” and “a thoughtful, sensitive performer” who “balanced lyrical warmth and crisp clarity”(Tommasini–The New York Times), pianist Zhu Wang was awarded First Prize in the 2020 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions, Gold Medalist at 2024 New Orleans International Piano Competition. Zhu was one of the finalists in the 2019 Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, and one of the prizewinners of 2024 Cleveland International Piano Competition. The world-renowned pianist Fou Ts’ong recognized Zhu as an “excellent pianist with a natural sense of harmony and imagination,” whose sensitive and engaging performances exhibit a remarkable depth of musicianship and poise beyond his age.
Recent performances include appearing as soloist with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium, Columbus, Kansas City, Spokane, Memphis, and Richmond Symphony Orchestras, and solo recital for Hilton Head International Piano Competition. And highlights of the upcoming season include Grieg Piano Concerto with Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Matthew Kraemer. Solo recital for Broman Concert Series and Tuesday Matinee at Kaufman Music Center, chamber music concert at Big Arts in Sanibel Island, Concerts International Chesapeake Music Festival, and concert tour in Europe and North America with violinist Randall Goosby in the spring of 2026.
Celebrated for his “technical mastery and deep sense of lyricism,” (The Durango Herald), Zhu has appeared in recital at Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, Southampton Rising Stars, Music at Dumbarton Oaks, The Morgan Library & Museum, Hayden’s Ferry Chamber Music Series, Buffalo Chamber Music Society, Salon de Virtuosi, and Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, which made The New York Times’ “Best of Classical Music 2021” list.
An avid chamber musician, Zhu has appeared on series such as Chamber Music Detroit, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Vancouver Recital Society, La Jolla Music Society, Stanford Live, Hamilton College, Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, Howland Chamber Music Series, Chesapeake Music, Clarion Concerts, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Zhu is an alum of Kneisel Hall Chamber Music School, Bravo! Vail, Caramoor’s Evnin Rising Stars, Music@Menlo International Program, and he regularly appears in chamber music recitals with violinist Randall Goosby.
A native of Hunan Province, China, Zhu started learning piano at the age of five following his grandfather’s love of music. Zhu is a graduate of Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School and received Gina Bachauer Scholarship, Mieczyslaw Munz Scholarship, and Mehlin Prize. His teachers include Emanuel Ax, Robert McDonald, and Zhe Tang. He gratefully acknowledges the support of the Bagby Foundation for the Musical Arts. Zhu currently lives in New York City with his wife Chloe and their beloved two cats, Chaz and Tùzi.
