Hekun Wu

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The French newspaper Nice-Matin recently headlined, "Hekun Wu, globe-trotter virtuoso, is one of the most recognized Chinese musicians in the world... He played a Beethoven Sonata in such a brilliant and powerful manner." Wu enjoys a versatile career as a concert cellist, conductor and chamber musician. Praised for his "virtuosic technique with thoughtful and poetic expressivity" (China Times) and his interpretive insights that are "bold and very full of conviction, unusually supple and beautiful" (The Boston Globe), Wu has concertized in his native China, U.S., Austria, France, Italy, Japan including such capitols as Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Taipei, and has been featured on numerous television and radio broadcasts. He has performed with major orchestras in China including the China Central Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, giving the Chinese premieres of the Milhaud and Elgar cello concertos, the latter recorded for the CRC label. He made his European debut in France with the Orchestre de Bordeaux under Pierre Dervaux at the Ravel Festival, followed by a televised solo performance in Paris. Wu has served as Principal Cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on tour and recordings (BIS). His solo engagements have taken him to such venues as Merkin Hall in New York, the Beijing Concert Hall, the Taipei National Concert Hall, the Peabody Conservatory, the New England Conservatory, and the Shanghai Grand Theatre, where his Concerti Concert was highly acclaimed. Most recent performances include series of recitals of the complete Bach Six Solo Suites, "The Dao of Bach" in Salem and Portland; concerto soloist with the Shanghai Sinfornietta in the 2008 New Year's Concert at the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre; recitalist at the Nice International Summer Music Festival-Académie in France; the Chinese premiere of Penderecki's Concerto Grosso with the composer conducting at the Shanghai International Music Festival. Music Director of the Salem Chamber Orchestra from 2005-08, Wu was recently appointed as the resident conductor and guest artist at the Icicle Creek Summer Chamber Music Festival in Washington. His recently released CDs include two world premiere recordings: the Turkish composer, Ahmed Adnan Saygun's Sonata (Musica Mundana) and the American composer, Eric Sawyer's "Five Bagatelles" (Albany Records), as well as a solo album, "Songs and Dances from Distant Lands" (CRC). His recording of the Bach Six Solo Suites is forthcoming.

While increasingly in demand as a cellist and conductor, Wu is also a well-respected teacher. He has held cello workshops and masterclasses at numerous conservatories and universities such as the New England Conservatory, the Longy School, the Shanghai Conservatory, and the Taipei National University of the Arts, as well as the Académie Internationale d'Eté de Nice and the Icicle Creek Summer Chamber Music Institute in Washington. He has been on the faculties at Wellesley College and the University of Delaware as cellist and conductor, and previously at the Shanghai Conservatory where he was the youngest cello professor appointed; since 1994, he has regularly held masterclasses as a guest professor. His students have won major national and international competitions and serve in principal positions with major orchestras. Born and educated in Shanghai and later at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM-Paris), he completed his graduate studies in the U.S. at Boston University and the University of Minnesota. He was a recipient of both cello and conducting fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival. Wu studied with renowned cellists Maurice Gendron, Paul Tortelier, Zara Nelsova, Russian cellist Tanya Remenikova, and American cellist Leslie Parnas. As a conductor, he has worked with David Zinman, Edo de Waart, and Murry Sidlin at the American Academy of Conducting.

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Hekun Wu

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