Zhu Dan is grateful to those who have mentored him - from his first violin teacher in China to some of the world's top violin pedagogues, including Lucie Robert, Ivry Gitlis, Gerard Poulet and Aaron Rosand. But it is his father's early guidance and persistence for which he feels most thankful.
"My father guided me to start the violin. Without his push, help and guidance, I don't think I could be who I am today," says the violinist, who will be in town for The Intimacy of Creativity music season.
The Beijing-born Zhu received his first violin at the age of four from his father, an avid music lover and a violin player in his spare time. "He was a member of Mao's sent-down youth and was deprived of opportunities to receive professional training. But he has a good ear for music," the 32-year-old says.
Every week, Zhu's father took him to violin lessons and sat there during the class. At home, he helped Zhu practise. "He is strict and disciplined, but never a tiger father. My musical development has so much to do with him," says Zhu.
From the age of eight, Zhu studied with Wang Zhilong, the late violin professor from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, after he spotted Zhu during a violin contest. One year later, for his first public performance at Beijing Music Hall, Zhu played a Mendelssohn violin concerto, accompanied by the China Youngsters Chamber Orchestra, where he was the first violin and soloist.
Focusing on the violin while attending school meant he had little time left to play with his peers. Each weekend at the youngsters' orchestra was the only time he could be with children of his age. "Playing violin in the youngsters' orchestra was like playing games with my buddies. I looked forward to each weekend," he says.
Everybody agreed Zhu was a rising violin star. But when he failed the entrance exams to the school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music three years in a row, it stunned all of them. "It was a huge blow to me. I had this big question mark about my talents." Again, it was his parents' belief in him that propelled Zhu to work harder until, at the age of 12 and on his fourth attempt, he was accepted by the school. There, he studied with Huang Xiaozhi, another violin professor in the conservatory.