LiLa

Cellist LiLa was born in Hangzhou, China, in 2002 and began her musical education on the piano before transitioning to the cello at the age of seven. During these initial years, her teachers included Zhang Baojun and Cao Min, and at nine years old she was admitted to the primary school of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2016, Richard L Aaron and Sieun Lin accepted her into their classes as a precollege student of the Juilliard School in New York. She gained further experience by attending masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Frans Helmerson, Natalia Gutman, Mischa Maisky, Lynn Harrell and David Geringas.

Even at a young age, LiLa won first prizes in numerous international competitions. These include the 2011 International Music Competition in Osaka, the 2012 Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Zagreb, the international Fulham Music Competition in Paris, and the 2014 International Tchaikovsky Competition for young musicians in Moscow, from which she emerged as the youngest ever winner. She also won the 2nd in the 43rd Stulberg International String Competition in 2018.

LiLa was invited to perform at the Verbier Festival and at the 5th Mini Verbier Festival in Munich. She has given concerts with orchestras such as the Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Opera House Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Virtuosi and the New Russia State Symphony Orchestra.

In 2019 she performed at the Kronberg Academy Festival. Since October 2018, she has been studying at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. These studies are funded by the Goltermann Cello Scholarship.