Nirvana & Yuyao Qu lunchtime violin and piano recital

Take a break and enjoy an intimate in-person recital featuring the beautiful sounds of violin and piano by the talented Nirvana and Yuyao Qu. Perfect for a relaxing lunchtime escape filled with great music and good vibes.

Programme

• Chaconne in G minor; Tomaso Vitali
• Violin Sonata; César Franck

Biography:

Nirvana Che-Lai is 14 years old, and has been learning the violin since the age of 6. She is a Music Scholar at Eltham College in London, and also studies at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music. Having previously trained with Emanuela Buta and Rodney Friend, she currently learns with Ani Schnarch. She was awarded the Fritz Kreisler Cup for her violin recital performances at the Coulsdon & Purley Festival in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025 and the Founder's Cup in 2023 for Solo String performance. She was the youngest ever winner of Eltham College's Concerto Competition in 2024, and performed Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending at Blackheath Halls with the school's Symphony Orchestra; she also recorded this piece in a version for violin and organ. In 2025, Nirvana won the Sevenoaks Young Musician of the Year Competition at just 14 years old; in the same year, she won 1st Prize in the Berlin Classical Music Competition and the London International Music Competition, and was awarded Gold Prizes in the Virtuoso International Music Awards and the Amadeus International Music Awards. Nirvana has also been a finalist in the Dvarionas Violin Competition in Lithuania and the Chicago International Violin Competition, and performed as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall alongside the All Souls Orchestra in their annual flagship concert, Prom Praise, in May 2024. In July 2025 she made her public concerto debut, performing Bruch's Scottish Fantasy with the Angel Orchestra in London, and performed this piece again in December 2025 with the Lydian Orchestra. She currently plays an 18th Century Klotz violin alongside a Peccatte bow, both on loan to her from the Cherubim Music Trust, for whom she performed two solo recitals in London in early 2025.

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