Shi Di, born in the spring of 1982 in the city of ShenYang, China, began his ascend in the music world at the age of five.
Before entering Sheng Yang Conservatory of Music in 1995, Di has already won over 20 regional and national competitions in the junior strings circuit for his excellence in Violin performance.
In 2002, Shi Di was admitted to the most prestigious music school in China, the Central Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Beijing. For the next four years at CCM, Di’s talent blossomed under the tutelage of Professor Zhen Shan Wang and Zao Yang Lin, and he quickly became the brightest star among the most talented young musicians in China as he was invited to perform in many national concerts and prominent events around the country.
By the end of 2005, his growing love for viola led Shi Di to switch his concentration to become a violist under the guidance of renowned Professor Zhen Su. After winning the String Musician of the Year award and receiving his Bachelor of Music degree in Viola from CCM in 2006, Shi Di took his talent to the United States, where he was accepted by the prestigious Thorton School of Music in the University of Southern California as a full-scholarship recipient of the Graduate Certificate program.
Under the guidance of prominent violist and university professor, Donald McInnes, in the spring of 2007, Shi Di took home the Wayne Carouse Memorial Award for Outstanding Viola Performance for his first place finish among all violas in the renowned Corpus Christi International String Competition in Texas, where he was also the third place winner among all string performances. In the fall of same year, Shi Di again finished first place among violas in the USC Concerto Competition and took third place overall among all strings. Di’s success in competitions was coupled with his rise at Thorton School of Music as he quickly became the principal violist for the USC Thorton School of Music Orchestra in the winter of 2007.
In the summer of 2008, Shi Di became the first violist ever to be accepted by the Artist Diploma program at the Thorton School of Music in the University of Southern California.
In 2009, after performing with the celebrated Tokyo String Quartet as a guest violist in Los Angeles, Shi Di became a member of the San Diego Symphony as a sectional violist.
In 2010, Shi Di performed in multiple concerts with the Santa Barbara Symphony as a visiting principal violist.
Over the years, Shi Di has collaborated and worked with many prominent modern musicians such as Brian Chen, Peter Stumpf, Hui Liu, YunJie Liu, Midori Goto, Hagai Shaham, and Kevin Fitz-Gerald.
