These musicians are teenagers and already winners. Meet the Strelitzia Trio

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Three young musicians, Lucas Liu (left), Melvin Xu (center) and Ryan Pi (right) comprise the Strelitzia Trio. Here they practice in a masterclass held by Sergiu Schwartz.

Credit: Mark Rainey

They’re named after a flower, they compete to level up, and they’re all still in high school. They’re the Strelitzia Trio, three Atlanta-area teens who came together in 2024 and quickly jelled. By the spring of 2025, the boys made the semifinals of a national chamber music competition, the Coltman, and took the grand prize at the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition back in Georgia. 

On this weekend’s Front Row Georgia, they play music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Anton Arensky. The Strelitzia Trio recently sat down with GPB’s Sarah Zaslaw to talk about everything from collaborating and competing to the summer festival they founded and to life beyond music. 

TRANSCRIPT

Sarah Zaslaw: Melvin, Lucas and Ryan, welcome to GPB! Let’s go around and have you each introduce yourself: if you could just say your name, your age, what instrument you play.  

Melvin Xu: My name is Melvin Xu. I’m 16 and I live in the Johns Creek area. I’ve been playing the piano for about 10, 11 years now.  

Lucas Liu: Hello, my name is Lucas Liu. I’m currently a senior at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, but I live around East Cobb. And I’ve been playing violin since I was about 3 years old.  

Ryan Pi: Hi, my name is Ryan Pi. I’m a junior at Greater Atlanta Christian School. I play the cello. I live in Suwanee, Ga, and I’ve been playing for about eight years.  

Sarah Zaslaw: In 2024, under the auspices of the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Program, which is for Atlanta-area teen musicians, you formed a piano trio — and that means piano-violin-and-cello, it doesn't mean three pianos. Tell me about the name "Strelitzia." Strelitzia Trio.

Lucas Liu: At Franklin Pond there’s this tradition of historically having trios that are named after trees, plants, green things. We wanted to continue that tradition, so originally we were looking specifically at trees. I think the name willow came up, but nothing really clicked until we just started searching for maybe non-tree items. That’s where we found Strelitzia, which means bird of paradise plant. It was a ... very nice flower, and we just decided to choose it because it sounded cool.  

Sarah Zaslaw: You three are busy high schoolers and you’re all at different schools. You don’t live near each other, right? How do you find time to practice together?  

Melvin Xu: It’s sort of difficult to manage all our individual practices and trying to find time with rehearsal and coaching. So we just try every week. We have a designated time, sort of, for rehearsals and coachings. And sometimes we would meet at each other’s house for rehearsals.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Do you make all your own musical decisions, or do you ever work with adults who have opinions about how you’re playing or how you should do things?  

Ryan Pi: At the Franklin Pond Fall Into Spring program, we get coachings and masterclasses from professional musicians around the world. We are coached by ASO musicians and have had masterclasses with world-class quartets and chamber groups.  

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Melvin Xu

Credit: Strelitzia.com

Sarah Zaslaw: I’m curious about the group dynamics when it’s just the three of you. Is it a democracy? How do you share feedback or make suggestions or make decisions without hurting any feelings?  

Melvin Xu: When we first started, we didn’t really get to know each other. So it was a slower process. We were trying to mostly get things together. But now we’ve gotten past that phase. So every rehearsal we try to bring in our own ideas and we work together through them. Sometimes it can get pretty, um — not heated, but we’re all very passionate about what we play. So we just have to sort those issues out and find what works best for us as a group.  

Ryan Pi: All three of us are used to being solo musicians. But for chamber music, it’s different because we all have different ideas, we have different interpretations of the piece. But we have to respect that and find the best solution together. So if someone has an idea but another person doesn’t think it’s best, we just say, "OK, let’s just try it, let’s see how it goes." And after we play it, we can all discuss. So it’s not a democracy, it’s just working together, integrating our own ideas into what we think is the best version of the piece we want to play.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Someone who’s never played music like this before might think, what’s there to discuss? The notes are on the page. Arensky or Beethoven or whoever told you what to do. What is it that you’re trying to hammer out at this stage?  

Lucas Liu: There’s a lot more to chamber music than just the notes. There’s a lot of matching that needs to go on. That could be just playing together, making sure maybe fast sections with a lot of 16th and 32nd notes are, like, meshed together. Another difficult part is matching tone. Like, people might be playing way too loud, way too bright, way too warm, maybe way too quiet. It’s kind of like a balancing act. You have these three voices and you’re trying to essentially merge them into one. It even goes as far as maybe trying to match vibrato speeds, things like that. It has to be an in-unison kind of process.  

Sarah Zaslaw: You must each spend more time playing alone than playing with other people. I’m curious about individual practicing. How many hours a day or a week do you each practice? Did you always like practicing? When did that change?

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Lucas Liu

Credit: Strelitzia.com

Ryan Pi: Personally, I try to practice around 90 minutes to two hours per day. Obviously that doesn’t always go as planned. For me, I’ve never really enjoyed individual practicing as much as other musicians have, but these days I’m finding ways to make it more enjoyable, such as finding a new technique or just exploring different ways to use my bow and integrate my body to make the playing process more efficient and ergonomic.  

Lucas Liu: I think I practice a little less than Ryan. I try to go for around an hour to an hour and a half every day. While playing, one main thing that I think all of us try to look out for is not to get lost in the music, I would say. It’s easy to run through an entire piece one time after another, but that doesn't really get you anywhere, because you keep looking at the big picture and you're not looking into the little details, which, at a certain level, is what is differentiating you from reaching the next level.

Melvin Xu: I also try to practice at least one hour every day, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. So, you know, on weekends we have somewhat more time without school. One thing that I’ve learned is that there’s this common misconception about what practicing is. Like, a lot of people think it’s just time that you take to get these really hard passages out. But I’ve learned that it also includes maybe you play this slow part over and over and just trying to figure out what musical idea works best there, not just how you can make your fingers move faster or how you can impress the audience more.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Do you have any words of wisdom for younger students who might be not as advanced or resisting putting in the time?  

Lucas Liu: I think as a kid, violin wasn’t my favorite thing. I didn’t necessarily hate it, but it just wasn’t my favorite pastime. If there’s any situation where a kid maybe doesn’t want to practice, the main thing I would say is that at the end it does turn out there is an upside to all of the hours that you might be like, "Oh, why am I even doing this?" One of the main things that improved my opinion of violin a lot was joining the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. When you put in enough hours and put in enough work, there is a very large and very welcoming musical community that can be found. And I think that’s one of the best upsides to playing my instrument.  

Sarah Zaslaw: You three decided to put on your own music festival this year for even younger musicians to participate in. It’s called Notes of Summer — you’re all wearing the T-shirt in here today — Notes of Summer Music Festival, for piano and string players ages 12 and below. Whose idea was that?  

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Ryan Pi

Credit: Strelitzia.com

Melvin Xu: So this was actually my idea. I’ve noticed that as a pianist, the nature of the instrument is fundamentally different from, say, a string instrument.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Because you’re alone so much?

Melvin Xu: Yeah. Also there’s four string instruments, and you can see that in a string quartet or quintet. And also there’s school orchestras, middle school, high school. But there isn’t anything like that for piano. Since I was a child I only have been able to play in, say, my teacher’s recitals, with a few other students, like five students, and we would all get to know each other, but I don’t think that was a very enjoyable experience compared to, say, working in an orchestra every day. So this is what I wanted to bring to the younger musicians — pianists, but also to strings, because I know whatever a pianist can benefit [from], a string can also do the same.

Sarah Zaslaw: How did you locate the space and the participants and make this come together? Were any adults involved or did you do it all yourselves?  

Ryan Pi: We wanted the festival to have three components: first the competition, then the workshop and masterclasses, and finally the recital. So we divided the responsibilities between us three. So for example, Melvin made the website for our trio and the festival, while I handled communication, and Lucas handled marketing and stuff like that. The hardest part was getting the right people to join. So we cold-emailed GMTA teachers, 

Sarah Zaslaw: Georgia Music Teachers Association.

Ryan Pi: Yes. And just tried to find people that we know to join this festival. And ultimately it was a success.  

Sarah Zaslaw: How many students or participants did you have?  

Melvin Xu: We had a lot, a few dozen, and we just tried to share it with the community as much as possible. In our final recital, we actually got a lot of people from the community and our students' families and friends that got to come and watch us.  

Sarah Zaslaw: This was in Johns Creek, in the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta. Did you give the lessons yourselves?  

Ryan Pi: Uh, yes. 

Sarah Zaslaw: To all those kids?

Lucas Liu: Yes. It was mainly split into, like, I play violin so I taught the violinists, and yeah, it was fairly manageable.

Sarah Zaslaw: Who did the violas?

Lucas Liu: There were no violas!

Sarah Zaslaw: Okay, so you had it covered! Will you do it again next summer?  

Ryan Pi: Yeah, hopefully. We’re trying to also incorporate sort of an All-State [Orchestra] workshop for people who want to join All-State. 

Sarah Zaslaw: Let’s talk about competitions now. In your one year of existence, the Strelitzia Trio has already placed in two competitions I'm aware of: the Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition here in Georgia, which you won, and a national competition, the Coltman, where you traveled to Austin as semifinalists. I know you each have experience competing and auditioning on your own, so playing for judges isn’t brand new, but tell me why you chose to compete as a trio. Is it fun? Is it useful?  

Melvin Xu: Well, first and foremost, one of the main reasons anyone does a competition is to get recognition and to do well. We decided that this would also be a really good experience for all of the three of us and also improve us as a group. But what we learned from going to Coltman, it was a really good experience because we also got to see a lot of the country’s most talented musicians our age from schools like Juilliard, Colburn, those pre-colleges. It really showed us that there’s so much more we can learn from others.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Did you get to know the other students there? Was it sort of a collaborative or a cutthroat environment?  What was that like?

Lucas Liu: It was definitely not cutthroat at all. They were all very nice people. We did speak to, I would say, a pretty large number of the groups. Around when we were leaving we had a very large airport congregation before everybody was set to leave. And it was really great getting to meet all these people from, like, all the institutions that Melvin mentioned. Those were really great. Even though we we didn’t make finals, it was really great to be able to watch some of these groups play. These were probably some of the most talented musicians I’ve ever seen. I think it helped me grow a lot as a musician in terms of how my musical ideas form, things like that.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Now let’s talk about the one that you did win, the 2025 Franklin Pond Chamber Music Competition. Franklin Pond Chamber Music was founded by Atlanta Symphony violinist Ronda Respess about 25 years ago. Students who are admitted to the year-round program work closely with faculty coaches and work on their musical skills and communication skills and so on. They also run this annual competition. So, it’s the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. At noon, the groups take turns performing for the judges; this year that was the Blair Quartet. This is at Spivey Hall, renowned Spivey Hall in Morrow. Then there’s a break, the judges make their decisions, and later in the afternoon there’s an award ceremony where the top winners in the high school and middle school divisions get to perform their pieces again, for an audience consisting mostly of the other musicians and their families. I was there, too, because I was invited to emcee the awards ceremony, and it was a lovely occasion. What was y’all’s experience of that day? Were you nervous? Did you expect to win? Was it fun?  

Ryan Pi: Most of the musicians in the Georgia area have grown up together. We’ve seen each other at competitions. So it was more of a friendly environment, and yes, it was competitive, but we all were supportive of each other and that was great.  

Lucas Liu: I did want to address there was no, I think, expectation to win. These are all very talented groups. There were a lot of groups that we saw and we were like, wow, the level of artistry is very virtuosic, I would say. It was a good experience to perform in front of the Blair Quartet from Vanderbilt. It was definitely a kind of bonding moment for us as a trio and also with the rest of the competitors.  

Sarah Zaslaw: So now you’re two juniors and a senior. For now, what are the Strelitzia Trio’s plans?  

Melvin Xu: What we plan to do is continue with the Franklin Pond Fall Into Spring program. And we’re also hoping to go through some of the competitions that we went through last year and some new ones like Fischoff, and hopefully we’ll advance further and meet some new people, which is always an enjoyable experience. 

Sarah Zaslaw: Do any of you hope to become professional musicians, or do you have other plans after high school, or don’t you know yet? Lucas, you’re applying to college, so I’ll start with you.  

Lucas Liu: No matter what I do, I will continue to play violin — in orchestras, maybe university orchestras, if there’s any other opportunities available. I don’t think I will solely major in music if I do choose to go down that path.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Melvin?

Melvin Xu: Along similar lines, I’m not just going to stop once I graduate, and I hope to carry both my instruments and play on into college and my adult life.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Ryan, you're thinking about majoring in music, now?

Ryan Pi: Yeah. So, hopefully I will be able to double-major because I also wish to pursue my academic studies. 

Sarah Zaslaw: And there is life besides music. What else are you each into, or how do you relax?  

Ryan Pi: Personally I’m really into soccer, so I play play soccer with my friends, and I find that having this sport can be a relaxing time away from all the rest of my life.  

Sarah Zaslaw: Just take care of your fingers.

Ryan Pi: Yeah.

Lucas Liu: I enjoy watching basketball, keeping up with basketball sometimes. And I also have a 7-year-old brother, so he’s pretty entertaining.  

Melvin Xu: Sometimes to relax I just go outside and look at nature. And also I like to hang out with my friends outside, go to some restaurants to hang out and talk, and to get away from all the stress that school or the responsibilities of just practicing or working together sometimes gives me. 

Sarah Zaslaw: All right, well, I wish you well-rounded lives whatever you pursue and success in everything. Good luck moving forward and thanks so much for coming in. Pianist Melvin Xu, violinist Lucas Liu, and cellist Ryan Pi, members of the Strelitzia Trio, thank you for joining me today and for sharing your music. 

Ryan, Lucas, Melvin: Thank you.