“The ‘folk’ in my bond with folk music”: Violinist Nancy Zhou on ‘The Strad’

Known for her probing musical voice and searing virtuosity, Nancy Zhou seeks to invigorate appreciation for the art and science of the violin. She writes a guest essay for The Strad:

“Music treads on the delicate line between the communal and individual experience; the primal and artful ways of expression; and the simplicity and complexity of human understanding. Trained as a classical musician, I’ve devoted countless hours to these latter elements of written Western art music and deconstructing the formal techniques creating the magic of this art form.”

Born in Texas to Chinese immigrant parents, Nancy began the violin under the guidance of her father, who hails from a family of traditional musicians. She went on to study with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory while pursuing her interest in literature at Harvard University. Since 2019, she is an Associated Artist of the Queen Elisabeth Chapel and was appointed Professor of Violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in September 2023.

Read the full piece HERE.

Nancy Zhou’s upcoming album Stories (re)Traced is released on Orchid Classics on June 6, 2025.