Yue Zou

Yue Zou is a pianist specialising in contemporary music. Since 2025, she has been studying Contemporary Music Performance at the International Ensemble Modern Academy at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (IEMA).

She began piano lessons at the age of five. After six years of professional training at The Affiliated High School of the China Conservatory of Music, she moved to Germany at the age of seventeen and pursued her Bachelor's degree at the Freiburg University of Music with Prof. Gilead Mishory and Tomoko Ogasawara, graduating with distinction in July 2018. She then continued her studies at the Karlsruhe University of Music with Prof. Kaya Han, earning a Master's degree in Piano with distinction in 2021. From 2021 to 2024, she completed a second Master's degree in Contemporary Music as well as a Soloist Diploma (Konzertexamen) under the guidance of Prof. Markus Stange and Prof. Momo Kodama.

During her years of study in Germany, Yue Zou developed a strong passion for contemporary music. She collaborated closely with composition students from the classes of Prof. Johannes Schöllhorn (Freiburg), Prof. Wolfgang Rihm, and Prof. Markus Hechtle (Karlsruhe), performing numerous solo and ensemble works. She also gained valuable artistic inspiration through masterclasses with renowned pianists including Pi-hsien Chen, Dmitri Bashkirov, Nicolas Hodges, Piotr Anderszewski, Michael Uhde, and Tibor Szasz. In the summer of 2025, she attended the Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt.

She has received several national and international awards, including First Prize at the Ina and Gustav Lenzewski Chamber Music Award in 2026 with her colleagues from the International Ensemble Modern Academy, as well as prizes at the Rainer Koch Memorial Prize, the Dr. Hermann Büttner Competition, and the Heinz-Kunle Competition.

Supported by the ULYSSES Platform, Yue Zou is a member of the International Ensemble Modern Akademie (IEMA) 2025/2026.