Wesley Zhu ’25, a current senior, is a valued member of both the school musical community and the school community at large. Wesley began playing the violin at age six, and while he tried other musical endeavors including learning the piano, he soon found that violin was his forte. Soon, he centered all of his efforts around mastering the violin and joined his first ensemble, the Petite Ensembles elementary level within the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras (BYSO) program, one of the top two orchestral programs in New England alongside the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra program.
To prepare for higher-level ensembles, he soon began working with his first private teacher, Magdelina Richter, who would teach him for four years. Then, after setting his sights on advancing into the highest level of BYSO, the Boston Youth Symphony, he switched to study under Mrs. Joen Jin-Kyung, the Chair of the Strings Department at the Rivers School Conservatory of Music. Under Mrs. Joen’s tutelage and years of preparation for elite-level auditions, Wesley soon began to amass a series of classical achievements; these include playing in Chamber Music Lab (CML) masterclasses, serving as the Northeastern District Concertmaster and Associate Concertmaster, and playing in the All-State orchestra all four years of high school.
When asked about the most rewarding moments that have come with his violin journey of 12 years, Wesley answered, “It’s always an amazing experience to look at the faces of the audience after a successful concert. Every orchestra I’ve been a part of has always been immensely proud of the work they produced in a collective effort with each other, and I love the teamwork aspect that comes with the orchestral experience.” Wesley further expanded on the obstacles that come along in every musician’s career as well, remarking, “The discipline that practicing a classical instrument provides is always rewarding, even though the process might be hard. It’s always an incredibly nerve-wracking experience to prepare for an important audition in front of the judges, but the feeling you get after coming out of a well-played audition really can’t be replaced.”
Fellow Belmont Hill Symphonic Orchestra member and classmate Adrian Tan ’25 also remarked, “I’ve been playing with Wesley since we were both in the lower forms, and I could always tell he had put in a lot of work in playing the violin. He’s one of the guys who came into Belmont Hill already with a lot of experience, but he’s also really humble about it.” Clarinetist CJ Collins ’25 also expanded, “Wesley showed a lot of leadership the past few years in the orchestra. He’s one of the best violinists by far, but he’s always shown a helping hand to some of the younger guys, as well.”
Looking into the future, Wesley plans to continue playing the violin throughout college; although he isn’t sure about pursuing the violin more seriously at professional levels, he is sure that he wants to maintain the fun aspect of simply playing the pieces he loves. The Panel wishes Wesley luck in his musical endeavors, looking forward, and thanks him for the many musical contributions he has provided to the school.
