Sharon Zhou & Thomas Masciaga

Named one of the 2026 Classic FM Rising Stars, Sharon is a British violinist and composer, currently studying at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna and is an artist at the Davidsbündler Academy in The Hague. From a young age, she has performed throughout the UK, Europe and China as both a soloist and chamber musician, making her concerto debut at the age of fourteen with Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. She has collaborated with renowned artists including Christian Altenburger, Adrian Brendel, Ana Chumachenco, Ernst Kovacic and Boris Kuschnir, amongst others. In addition, Sharon has been a laureate of several competitions, such as 1st prize at the North London Music Festival, the Colonel Howes Prize at the Eastbourne Young Soloist Competition and the Silver Award at Internationale Musikfest Wien, where she made her debut at the Musikverein. Most recently, she premiered her first two compositions, “Prima o poi” for violin and piano and “Solace” for solo violin. She was also a recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Julius Isserlis Scholarship. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the Royal College of Music under the guidance of Detlef Hahn, Daniel Rowland and Peter Manning.

Born in Italy to an Anglo-Italian family, Thomas Masciaga started playing the piano at the age of seven. When he was 12, he made his recital debut in Siena, at Teatro dei Rozzi, and subsequently won several national and international competitions. At the age of 15, Thomas began commuting between Italy and London to attend the Junior Department of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he was awarded the coveted Piano Prize. Thomas continued his undergraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Paul Roberts and Joan Havill. Since graduating with a first-class Bachelor’s degree he was then awarded the prestigious Concert Recital Diploma. He subsequently studied on the postgraduate course with Lucy Parham and Charles Owen and is now pursuing his studies on the Artist Diploma course.

During his studies in London, Thomas has regularly performed solo recitals and concertos in both England and Italy, including venues such as St. James’s Piccadilly, Bechstein Hall and Milton Court, Barbican. Most recently, Thomas was a prize winner at the 2025 Intercollegiate Sheepdrove Piano Competition, where he also won a Robert Turnbull Award. Thomas has received ongoing support and mentoring from Konstantin Bogino at Accademia Perosi in Biella and since 2024 has been a Talent Unlimited Artist.