Collaborative Cello Teacher and Secretary of the Cello Teaching & Research Office, The Yehudi Menuhin School Qingdao

Young cellist and chamber musician, trained in Europe

Master of Music, Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf (Germany)

National Grade III Performer of ChinaRecipient of Zhejiang Province's "New Pine Plan" for young artistic talents

Yalu Chen began studying the cello in early childhood. In 2008, she was admitted to the Affiliated Middle School of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Professor Shen Yijun. In 2011, she entered the Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing, studying under Professor Yu Mingqing—President of the China Cello Society and the first doctoral supervisor of cello performance in China. During her undergraduate years, Yalu Chen served as principal cellist of the China Youth Symphony Orchestra, and performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts with the Sino-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra under the legendary Russian conductor Valery Gergiev. In 2014, on assignment from the Ministry of Culture, she toured Germany and Switzerland with the orchestra. Throughout her studies, she was repeatedly awarded the National Scholarship, the Outstanding Student Scholarship, and the National Encouragement Scholarship.

After completing her bachelor's degree, Yalu Chen was admitted with distinction to several European conservatories, including the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar (Germany), the Rostock University of Music and Theatre (Germany), the Conservatory of Music in Bozen–Bolzano (Italy), and the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf (Germany). In 2016, she enrolled at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf, studying with Professor Nikolaus Trieb, principal cellist of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. During her studies in Germany, she was invited to serve as principal cellist of the symphony orchestra of Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, performing on tour throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. The flute trio she performs with was repeatedly invited to give concerts and received several favourable notices in the press, earning widespread critical acclaim. In 2018, she graduated with highest honours, receiving her Master's degree in Cello Performance.

After returning to China in 2018, Yalu Chen joined the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra as a cellist, touring Italy, Germany, Poland, and other countries with the ensemble. During the National Day celebrations of 2019, she took part in the grand one-thousand-musician symphony performance on Tiananmen Square, Beijing, marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 2020, nominated by the Ningbo Symphony Orchestra, she competed in the Young Musicians' Solo Competition organized by the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and won second prize in the Zhejiang Stage Art "Orchid Award." In addition, she has hosted numerous recitals and lectures—both online and in person—at the Ningbo Library, earning wide praise from professionals and audiences alike.

As a teacher, Yalu Chen has guided her students to outstanding results in numerous cello competitions, including: eighth prize at the 9th Aiqin Cup and 4th International Cello Competition; first and second prizes at the 1st Zhejiang Provincial Strings Competition (2022); multiple gold prizes in solo categories at the 2022 Qingpei Arts Showcase; and first prize in both the lower-primary and upper-primary divisions of the 2023 Ningbo Primary and Secondary School "Three-Solo" Competition, organized by the Ningbo Municipal Education Bureau.