Since some years, the ICMA Jury invites young musicians to the Award Ceremonies, where they can perform for a select audience with winners, industry representatives, Jury members and guests. This year two musicians will enrich the ceremony, German cellist Friederike Herold and violinist Simon Zhu.
Friederike Herold
(c) Anna S.
Friederike Herold was born in Pirna, Germany, in 2005. She received her first violoncello lessons at the age of four. At the age of six she was accepted into the children’s class at the Carl Maria von Weber Academy of Music in Dresden. She has been attending the Saxon State High School for Music in Dresden since 2016 and is taught by Prof. Emil Rovner (Dresden University of Music). In addition, she regularly receives lessons from Prof. Ivan Monighetti in Basel.
From 2016-2018 she was a participant in the Meisterschüler-Meister course with the cellist Jan Vogler. She is also a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and takes part in the intensive weeks there. Friederike can already look back on a number of competition successes.
Simon Zhu
(c) Kaupo Kikas
Simon Zhu is a rising young violinist with a versatile repertoire. Born in Tübingen (Germany) in 2001, he received his first violin lessons at the age of 6. His exceptional talent was recognized at an early age, so that he was soon taught by renowned violin professors. Since 2012 he has been attending the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach-Gymnasium in Berlin and until 2015 he was a junior student at the Berlin University of the Arts until 2015. At the same time he also studied at the Mozarteum Salzburg (Austria) with Wonji Kim-Ozim and also receives lessons from Prof. Koh Gabriel Kameda at the Hochschule für Musik Münster. He is currently studying with Prof. Tomasz Tomaszewski at the Julius-Stern-Institute of the University of Arts in Berlin and receives private lessons from Ning Feng.
His successes are remarkable and he was awarded prizes in many competitions. Simon is a scholarship holder of the German Music Foundation since 2016.
He is an academic at Hope Music Academy 2020 and since October 2020 at the Walter Stauffer Academy Cremona where he works with Prof. Salvatore Accardo. He is also a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and takes part in the intensive weeks there.
He plays a fine old Italian violin since 2020, a generous loan by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins London.
