Zlatomir Fung

The 2026/27 season sees Fung return to orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Cristian Măcelaru, Evergreen Symphony Orchestra with Jaap van Zweden and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the World Premiere of Laurence Osborn's Cello Concerto. Across North America, he debuts at the Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and appears with orchestras including the Utah Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and Oregon Symphony. In Asia, Fung returns to the Daejeon Grand Festival to perform in the opening concert under the festival’s Artist Director Han-Na Chang, and makes his debut with the Osaka Symphony Orchestra.

Recent seasons have seen Fung serve as Artist-in-Residence with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and appear with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Following his recital debut at Carnegie Hall, Fung was described by Bachtrack as being "one of those rare musicians with a Midas touch: he quickly envelopes every score he plays in an almost palpable golden aura". Other recital highlights include returns to the Wigmore Hall and appearances at the Verbier, Dresden Music, Janáček Brno and Tsinandali Festivals, La Jolla Chamber Music Society, Aspen Music Festival, San Francisco Symphony’s Davies Hall, National Theater and Concert Hall Taipei, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts-Weiwuying, Shanghai Concert Hall and NCPA Beijing.  

As well as demonstrating a mastery of the canon, Fung brings exceptional insight into the depths of contemporary repertoire, championing the works of composers such as Unsuk Chin, Dobrinka Tabakova, Nadia Boulanger and Anna Clyne. In 2023 and with the Dallas Symphony, Fung gave the world premiere of Katherine Balch whisper concerto with ‘jaw-dropping brilliance’ (Dallas Morning News), as dedicatee of the work. It was awarded the RPS award for Best Large-Scale Composition in 2025.

In April 2025, Signum Records released Fung's debut album, which explores the world of opera fantasies transcribed and arranged for cello and piano. Alongside a collection of fantasies by Bizet, Donizetti, Rossini, Tchaikovsky and Wagner, the album unfolds with Fung's own fantasy based on Janáček’s Jenůfa. In the same year, he was featured on Classic FM's list of Rising Stars.

Zlatomir Fung is the youngest cellist ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Of Bulgarian and Chinese heritage, Fung began playing cello at age three and earned fellowships at Ravinia's Steans Music Institute, Heifetz International Music Institute, MusicAlp, and the Aspen Music Festival and School. A proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship, Fung studied at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Richard Aaron and Timothy Eddy. In 2024, Fung was appointed to the cello department faculty from the 24/25 academic year.

Fung was announced as a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Winner in 2022. Fung performs on a c. 1735 cello by Domenico Montagnana, on loan from a generous benefactor, and the 1696 “Lord Aylesford” Strad, on loan from the Sasakawa Music Foundation (formerly the Nippon Music Foundation).

2026/27 season / 511 words. Not to be altered without permission.