Praised by legendary pianist and scholar Paul Badura-Skoda as “an extraordinary pianist brimming with musicianship,” and described by Gramophone for his “poise and experience” and “a wide palette of colors, shadings, and dramatic contrasts,” Shangru Du has distinguished himself as a compelling concert pianist.
He has performed at major venues including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Van Cliburn Concert Hall in Fort Worth, the Auditorium in Bolzano, Paul and Morse Recital Hall at The Juilliard School, Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music, Finney Chapel and Warner Concert Hall in Oberlin, Griffin Concert Hall and Grace Commons Hall in Colorado, the concert halls of the Beijing Central Conservatory and Sichuan Conservatory of Music, and the Shenzhen Poly Theater. Recent highlights include Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Eastman Philharmonia and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Boulder Symphony.
A quarterfinalist in the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and semifinalist in the 2025 Busoni International Piano Competition, Shangru has also won first prizes in the Yamaha Music Scholarship Piano Competition, both Solo and Concerto divisions of the International Keyboard Odyssiad® Festival Competition (USA, 2022), the Rubato International Piano Competition (2022), and the Eastman School of Music Concerto Competition. He also received second prize in the Kawai Asian Piano Competition and first prize in the Yangtze Cup Piano Competition. His honors include the Cecilia Felman and Arthur Gold & Robert Fizdale Piano Scholarships from The Juilliard School, the Dean’s Merit Scholarship from Oberlin Conservatory, and the Pi Kappa Lambda Award from the Theta Chapter of the National Music Honor Society for excellence in academics and musicianship.
Born in Shandong, China, Shangru began piano studies at the age of six, he studied with Zhaoyi Dan at the Shenzhen Arts School and later with Hong Xu at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music (Middle School). He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory, studying with Stanislav Ioudenitch and Matti Raekallio, and his Master’s degree from The Juilliard School under Raekallio and Jerome Lowenthal. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music with Douglas Humpherys. In addition, Shangru has been working intensively with Evgeni Bozhanov. He has also worked with distinguished artists including Emanuel Ax, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Peter Frankl, Richard Goode, Cyprien Katsaris, Robert Levin, Robert McDonald, William Grant Naboré, Ursula Oppens, Georg Friedrich Schenck, and Dang Thai Son.
In addition to performing, Shangru is passionate about composition. He studied with composer Phillip Lasser at Juilliard, and his recent works include Stillness – Five Pieces for Solo Piano (2021), Prelude (2021), River Snow for mezzo-soprano and piano (2021), and Voyage for chamber orchestra (2022).