Olivia Zhu began piano at six and quickly emerged as one of the Bay Area’s most promising young musicians. She has won top prizes at the US Open Music Competition, the 2023 Golden Classical Music Awards, 2024 Grand Prize Virtuoso Competition, 2025 Birmingham International Music Competition and 2025 Medici International Music Competition with additional recognition in two international contests.
At seven, she became the youngest performer at the Ambassador of Tarnów Maestro Krystian Tkaczewski International Piano Festival to play a concerto with orchestra in Poland, followed by her second concerto at age eight at the Bari, Italy International Music Festival. She has also performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. Olivia loves performing concertos for the teamwork they embody, uniting all instruments while allowing the piano to lead with expression and artistry.
A pre-college student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she enjoys composing and writing music for friends, organizing club performances to raise funds for causes such as planting trees globally. In winter, she loves skiing, where the snowy landscape evokes the beauty and serenity of classical music.
Watch Olivia Zhu perform Ripples Op.100 No.1 by York Bowen on the piano for the 2025 Autumn Music Competition as part of the Charleston International Music Competition.