Hailed by The Dallas Morning News as a musician with “deeply felt and warmly shaped artistry,” 18-year-old violinist Steven Lu is devoted to sharing his voice through the vessel of musical poeticism. He began studying violin at the age of five, and has since since been the recipient of various prizes; namely, the 2022 grand prize of the Collin County Young Artists Competition, the 2023 grand prize of the Juanita Miller Competition, the 2023 grand prize of the Vernell T. Gregg Competition, and the 2022 silver medal of the Lynn Harrell Competition. Recently, he was announced as the bronze medalist of the 2024 Music Teachers National Association Competition.

Steven has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Lewisville Symphony Orchestra, the Plano Symphony Orchestra, and the Marshall Symphony Orchestra, making solo appearances performing in various concert venues such as the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, the Lila Cockrell Theatre at the Henry B. González Convention Center, and the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts. He was invited to perform at the 2018 Suzuki Association of the Americas Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in the summer of 2022 and 2023, was invited to study at the Heifetz International Music Institute hosted in Staunton, Virginia. Additionally, he served as the Concertmaster of the 2024 TMEA All-State Symphony Orchestra, ranking 1st across all violinists in the state of Texas.

Steven has also had the opportunity to work alongside esteemed violinists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Nicholas Kitchen, Andres Cardenes, Ilya Kaler, and Augustin Hadelich. Additionally, Steven has had the opportunity to collaborate with various renowned pianists such as Rohan de Silva, Jessica Xylina Osborne, Benjamin Loeb, Beilin Han, and Hyun Soo Kim. An avid chamber musician, he was the former first violinist of the Helios String Quartet, receiving the silver medal at the 2020 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition.

Beginning the fall of 2024, Steven will be pursuing his Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance at The Colburn School’s Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Martin Beaver. Currently, Steven studies under internationally acclaimed violinist Gary Levinson. His former teachers include the late Jan Mark Sloman, professor of violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music, violinist Stefan Jackiw, and Charles Krigbaum. In addition to playing the violin, Steven formally studies composition and actively composes and orchestrates original works of classical music. 

In his leisure time, Steven likes to listen to music, go on long walks, and discover new foods to eat.