Colburn School Awards Frances Rosen Violin Prize

VC Young Artist violinist Hao Zhou was awarded the prestigious prize

Given to one violinist each year, the award commemorates Frances Rosen's life in music and her mentorship and care for all students who crossed her path.

Zhou has been with the conservatory for 11 years. He began his studies with Henry Gronnier at the Community School of Performing Arts when he was just 13 years old.

A philosophy dear to Ms. Rosen was the idea of being a "whole artist," a characteristic Zhou embodies.”

Zhou is a member of the award-winning VC Young Artist Viano Quartet with which he won first prize winner of the 2019 Banff International String Quartet Competition. He also won the 2019 Montreal International Violin Competition.

“Yehuda Gilad said it really well," Zhou remarked. "He said, ‘To be a great musician, you have to be a great person.’ And, like anyone else, I have my ‘off days’…but I do try to be kind, courteous, and collegial with all of my peers.

"I think this is especially important in a small community like Colburn, where everybody knows each other. You have to want to be a person that other people want to be around. This spirit of being together and making music together is what makes Colburn such a great place."

"We extend our warmest congratulations to Hao for winning the Frances Rosen Violin Prize this year," a statement by the school reads. "We invite our Colburn community to join us in celebrating him as he moves to Philadelphia this fall to begin his studies in the Curtis Institute of Music’s Nina von Maltzahn String Quartet Program."