Rachel Siu
Resume
Described as "fearless" by Yo-Yo Ma in an interview with South China morning post, Australian born Rachel Siu has been making her mark all around the world. Rachel started learning the cello at the age of five with Renat Yusupov. Her father was a loyal music lover, and one day curiously asked if she would be interested in learning a string instrument, and played a video recording of a Brandenburg Concerto by Bach. She picked the cello, simply because it was a large instrument. Rachel completed both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees under the tutelage of Joel Krosnick at The Juilliard School, where she was a Kovner Fellow, and a recipient of the William Schuman Commencement Prize. Her previous teachers include Peter Rejto and Susan Blake.
Since debuting as a soloist at the age of seven at the Sydney Town Hall, Rachel has performed in Europe, Asia, America, and Australia, and has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, The Juilliard Orchestra, and LGT Young Soloists, working under the baton of conductors such as Thomas Adès, and Long Yu. She has frequented as a performer in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie, the Sydney Opera House, Alice Tully Hall, Xinghai Concert Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and the Musikverein.
Rachel more recently won the Gold Medal prize at the VIII David Popper International Cello Competition in Varpalota, Hungary, and first prize in the Stockport International Competition for Young Musicians. She will be returning to Stockport for another concerto appearance with the Stockport Symphony Orchestra in 2023.
At the age of 11, Rachel became the youngest winner in the 33-year history of the National Youth Concerto Competition in Australia. Rachel was the winner of The Juilliard School Concerto Competition in 2017, where she performed the Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor with The Juilliard Orchestra. She performed at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall for the first time when premiering a movement of Julian Gargiulo’s Cello Sonata No.2 for the 2019 Getting to Carnegie International Competition, in which she received first prize. She was also a prizewinner of the IX Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition in Morelia, Mexico in 2019. In 2020, she was awarded an alumni award from the MLC School Sydney for outstanding international achievements.
Rachel is an avid chamber musician, having performed frequently with her young piano trio in Sydney, after winning Australia’s National Musica Viva Chamber Music Competition in 2012. She has performed with many musicians, including Paul Neubauer, Glenn Dicterow, and Karen Dreyfus, and has coached with artists such as Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Hsin-Yun Huang, Yo-Yo Ma, and Laurie Smukler. She is currently a member of Austraia's own renowned Streeton Trio.
She has had the honor of playing in masterclasses for cellists such as Lynn Harrell, Frans Helmerson, Steven Isserlis, and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. Rachel is also a passionate teacher of both cello and music theory, having taught lessons in private, and at schools such as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School. She now currently holds a position as faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney. She completed her teacher training program at The School for Strings in New York, earning her Suzuki teaching certificate.
In January of 2019, Rachel travelled with select cellists from all around the world for the Scandinavian Cello School to perform at the Musikverein for the exclusive 78th Vienna Philharmonic Ball.
Rachel is currently a member of LGT Young Soloists. She was a recipient of the Australian Music Foundation Nora Goodridge Young Artist Award and the American Australian Association Dame Joan Sutherland Award.
Rachel was born into a creative family of many talents, although she is the only musician. She finds joy in rock climbing, outdoor activities, reading, and baking, and has recently been making resin pieces for friends and family.