Shuo Xu began his musical education by studying violin under the mentorship of Teacher Shao Guanglu. In 2015, he was admitted to the Viola Performance program at the Affiliated Middle School of Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In 2021, he entered Shanghai Conservatory of Music as the top-ranking viola major, studying under Professor Liu Nian and Teacher Shi Yucheng, with chamber music guidance from Professor Jensen Lam. Currently a fourth-year undergraduate, he has consistently excelled academically, receiving annual scholarships from both the conservatory and the Shanghai Municipal Government during his middle school years, including the First Prize from the Shanghai Tang Junyuan Education Foundation. During his undergraduate studies, he earned annual Shanghai Conservatory People’s Scholarships and secured the postgraduate recommendation exemption qualification in 2024.

As an outstanding viola student, Shuo  has participated in masterclasses led by renowned artists such as Nobuko Imai, Sang-Jin Kim, Thomas Riebl, Robert Diaz, Tim Frederiksen, Wen-Ting Kang, and Hongmei Xiao, receiving high praise. His competition achievements include the Gold Medal in the Western Instruments Junior Professional Division at the 2016 Hangzhou International Youth Music Competition; Fifth Place and the Vienna Classical Special Award at the 5th Shanghai Conservatory International Chamber Music Festival in 2018; the Special Interpretation Award at the 2019 UK Tertis International Viola Competition and First Prize with the Chinese Composition Award at the Shanghai Conservatory String Competition later that year. In 2020, he earned multiple international accolades, including First Prize at the 30th Città di Barletta International Young Musicians Competition (Italy), Second Prize at the 2nd French Music Competition, First Prize at the 21st Moncalieri-Cavalli International Young Musicians Competition (Italy), Second Prize at the 5th Moscow International Music Competition (Russia), and First Prize at the 1st Moscow International Art Elite Online Competition (Russia). In chamber music, he won First Prize at the Moscow International Fantasia Competition (Russia, ensemble) and the Gold Medal at the Crescendo International Music Competition (USA, ensemble).

Shuo has been selected for prestigious international programs, including the China Youth Orchestra (European tour, 2019), Morningside Music Bridge (2020), Seiji Ozawa Music Academy (2023), and the Tamba-Sasayama International Viola Masterclass (2024). He has been invited multiple times to present viola recitals and chamber concerts through Shanghai Concert Hall’s “Music Lunch Break” series and participated in the recording of CCTV’s “Happy Young Musicians” program.