Texas Rising Stars Biographies
Mei Liu
Mei Liu is a violinist currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Texas at Austin, where she also earned her Master of Music under the mentorship of Professor Sandy Yamamoto. She holds dual bachelorâs degrees in Violin Performance and Psychology from Arizona State University, studying with Dr. Katherine McLin.
An active orchestral musician, Mei has served as Concertmaster and Principal Second Violin at both ASU and UT Austin, and she performs regularly as a substitute section violinist with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician and member of the Soha Quartet, she recently won first prize in the Music Teachers National Association Chamber Competition and was named a semiâfinalist in the Plowman Chamber Music Competition. She was also a finalist in the Young Texas Artists Competition.
Mei has performed in masterclasses for distinguished artists including Frank Huang, Midori, Norman Fischer, Joseph Lin, Astrid Schween, and members of the MirĂł, St. Lawrence, and Borromeo Quartets.
Shijie Li
Shijie Li is a global artist with Hemiola Music and an awardâwinning violinist whose accolades include top prizes at the International Music Competition Paris â Grand Prize Virtuoso, the Iscart International Music Competition, the Primuz International String Competition, the Enkor International Violin Competition, the Hong Kong International Violin Competition, the Thomas Cooper International Violin Competition, the Kreutzer International Violin Competition, the Basel International Violin Competition, the Bellagrande International Musician Competition, and the Thaviu String Competition. He is recognized as one of the prominent young rising stars on todayâs international concert stage.
Shijie has appeared at major festivals and summer programs worldwide, including the Verbier Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music, the Heifetz International Music Institute, the âBravoâ International Music Academy, and Young Euro Classic. He has served as Assistant Concertmaster of the China Youth Symphony Orchestra, performed with NYOâChina, and founded both the Tide Piano Trio and the ChenXing String Quartet. His artistic development has been shaped by collaborations and masterclasses with leading musicians such as Feng Ning, Kun Hu, Lucy Robert, Namyun Kim, Zhou Qian, Wolfgane Jahn, Hanxiang Gong, Garrick Ohlsson, Lynn Harrell, Ludovic Morlot, and members of the Amber, Amadeus, and Juilliard Quartets.
Born in Beijing, Shijie began violin studies at the age of five. His teachers include Wei Zhao, Tao Yan, and Gerardo Ribeiro at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and at Northwestern University, where he earned both his Bachelorâs and Masterâs degrees. He is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the mentorship of Brian Lewis at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.
Yusong Zhao
Yusong Zhao is currently pursuing his doctoral degree at the University of Texas at Austin on a full scholarship. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Hartt School, University of Hartford, and earned his masterâs degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music. In 2025, he joined DFestival in Quanzhou, China, as a string faculty member and as a member of the resident ensemble, the Daedalus Quartet.
Yusong began violin studies at the age of four with Liu Mingjian and has since worked with distinguished teachers including Brian Lewis, Katie Lansdale, and Stephen Rose, principal second violin of the Cleveland Orchestra. He has been praised by leading artists such as Nurit BarâJosef, concertmaster of the National Symphony Orchestra, who described him as âa highly talented young musician with exceptional technical skill,â and by Edward Cumming, former artistic director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, who commended his âwarm and expressiveâ tone.
Yusong has performed at major international festivals and competitions. In 2018, he toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of China (NYOâChina). In 2023, he was selected for the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, where he served as concertmaster and collaborated with conductor Thomas Dausgaard and violinist Mayumi Kanagawa. His competition successes include first prize in the 2018 Hartt Chamber Music Competition, first prize in the 2021 Paranov Concerto Competitionâperforming Tchaikovskyâs Violin Concerto with orchestraâand first prize in the 2024 BSOM Concerto Competition, where he performed Shostakovichâs Violin Concerto No. 1 under conductor Farkhad Khudyev.
An active orchestral musician, Yusong has performed with the Canton Symphony Orchestra and the Akron Symphony Orchestra. He has also participated in masterclasses with renowned violinists including Rainer KĂźchl, former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic; Daniel Froschauer, member of the Vienna Philharmonicâs board of directors; and Nurit BarâJosef.