Fiona Qiu is currently completing her Master of Arts at Mozarteum University under the tutelage of Professor Lily Francis. While training at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), she was mentored by Dr. Robin Wilson and Sophie Rowell at ANAM, as well as Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU).
Fiona has won numerous first-prize awards and scholarships, including the Ian Potter Cultural Trust Award, the QCGU Ena Williams Award, the Postgraduate Prize, the Brisbane Clubs Award & Audience Choice Award, the Owen Fletcher Prize, the Barbara Hebden Bursary, the Matilda Jane Aplin Prize, the Vada Jefferies Prize, the Basil Jones Sonata Prize, the Nora Baird Bursary, the German Violin Travel Bursary, and the Griffith Award for Academic Excellence.
Julie Sanderson, Courier Mail
As an orchestral musician, Fiona served as Concertmaster of the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra for Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, where she tackled one of the most challenging concertmaster solos in the orchestral repertoire. She was also the Concertmaster of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s (AYO) National Music Camp on two occasions and attended the 2019 AYO International Tour and Chamber Players programs.
Fiona is a founding member of the Artamidae String Quartet, which won the 4MBS Chamber Music Prize. As an avid chamber musician, she has participated in masterclasses with the Emerson, Australian, Borodin, Dover, New Zealand, and Goldner String Quartets, as well as with Ray Chen. In 2021, the quartet was invited by Baillieu Myer to perform at an art gallery owned by the Myer family. While studying at the Queensland Conservatorium, Fiona has performed with Ensemble Q, the resident ensemble, collaborating with a range of international visiting artists and conductors.
Fiona is also a member of the Alpenrose Trio currently based in Austria. Beyond classical music, Fiona enjoys exploring other genres and has collaborated with artists such as songwriter Katie Noonan, Damien Leith, and Grammy Award-winning Michael Bublé. Additionally, she curates a social media brand that showcases her violin journey and behind-the-scenes content through her media persona, ‘sleeplessviolin.’
The Alpenrose Trio are a young chamber ensemble made up of Australian musicians Bernice Chua on piano and violinist Fiona Qiu with Polish cellist Jan Lomosik. All three have been undertaking postgraduate studies in Australia and with the support of their teachers at the Mozarteum University have formed this trio...
Queensland Conservatorium violin student Fiona Qiu is barely out of her teens, but has already shared a stage with Michael Bublé, led Australia’s national youth orchestra and played the world’s great concert halls. The former child prodigy toured China, Russia and Europe with the Tagiev Chamber Orchestra at the age of 11…
A DECISION to put music first in her life has paid off for Mt Ommaney music student Fiona Qiu, who has received a prestigious appointment as concertmaster with the Australian Youth Orchestra. Fiona, 19, a former Brisbane Girls Grammar student who now studies at the Conservatorium is now attending the AYO’s annual camp in Adelaide...
