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Concertist
Conductor
Professor at
Willamette University
in US |
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Cello
One of today’s foremost and versatile musicians in the West to come from China, Hekun Wu distinguishes himself as a concert cellist and conductor. Wu is in his third season as Music Director and Conductor of the Salem Chamber Orchestra in Oregon. The critic noted “Salem Chamber Orchestra’s new music director, Hekun Wu, introduced himself with a bang last weekend: He simultaneously conducted and played cello solo in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. How hard is that? Picture driving a race car and doing your taxes at the same time.”
Praised widely 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, as well as in the U.S., Austria, France, Italy, Japan and has been featured on television and radio broadcasts in such capitols including Shanghai, Paris, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Taipei, to name a few. He has performed with major orchestras in China including the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the China Central Philharmonic, giving the Chinese premieres of the Milhaud and Elgar cello concerti, the latter recorded for the CRC label. Wu made his solo début in France with the Orchestre de Bordeaux under Pierre Dervaux at the Ravel Festival, followed by a televised performance in Paris; the legendary French cellist Maurice Gendron wrote to congratulate him, “Bien cher Wu: Nous t'avons entendu et vu à la télévision française, jouer l'Elégie de Fauré. C'était très beau, Bravo.” His recent solo engagements have included appearances at Merkin Hall in New York, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Taipei National Concert Hall, and at the Shanghai Grand Theatre, where his New Millennium Cello Concerti Concert was highly acclaimed. Wu has served as Principal ‘Cellist of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra on tour and recordings (BIS).
In 2006, he performed the Chinese premiere of Penderecki’s Concerto Grosso with the composer conducting in Guangzhou, China and at the Shanghai International Music Festival; subsequently he toured with Trio Oregon in six cities in Japan and China. 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). In 2008, he will present series of recitals performing the Bach Six Solo Suites in the U.S. and China.
While increasingly in demand as a cellist and conductor, Wu is also a well-respected teacher. Dr. Wu is currently the cello professor at Willamette University. He has held workshops and masterclasses at numerous conservatories and universities including the New England Conservatory in Boston, The Longy School of Music, and the Taipei National University of the Arts. He has been on the faculties of Wellesley College and the University of Delaware as both 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. Wu has been a juror at major competitions including the China 6TH National Cello Competition in Beijing. He is recognized in the U.S. National Who’s Who – In Executives and Professionals.
Born and educated in Shanghai and later at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, he completed his graduate studies in the U.S. Wu studied with renowned cellists, Maurice Gendron, Paul Tortelier, and Zara Nelsova, as well as Russian cellist, Tanya Remenikova, and American cellist, Leslie Parnas. He was a recipient of both cello and conducting fellowships from the Aspen Music Festival. As a conductor, he has worked with David Zinman, Edo de Waart, and Murry Sidlin at the American Academy of Conducting.
www.willamette.edu/~hwu
January 2008 |
