Joanna Wu
Assistant Principal Flute/Principal Piccolo of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, China
All-14K Custom Heavy-wall Flute, 14K Headjoint, Offset, B Footjoint, E Mech, C# Trill
purchased from flutistry
Flutist Joanna Wu celebrates a multi-faceted career, and is hailed for her captivating tone and musicianship. Born and raised in Central New York, she has cultivated an international presence with performances across North America, Asia, and Europe in venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Canadian Opera Company, Koerner Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall, Suntory Hall, Taipei National Theater and Concert Hall, and United Nations Headquarters. Broadcasted on Chinese National CCTV, Performance Today, and NPR, her performances have received wide acclaim.
In 2017, Ms. Wu was appointed Assistant Principal Flute/Principal Piccolo of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, she has worked with conductors Valery Gergiev, Roberto Abbado, Bramwell Tovey, Johannes Fritzsch, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Chen Xieyang, Yu Long, Xu Zhong, Carolyn Kuan, Peter Oundjian, and Shin-ik Hahm, among many others. She has appeared with the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Symphoria, and New World Symphony.
As a solo and chamber artist, Ms. Wu was invited to perform at Chamber Music Northwest in Portland, Oregon, and collaborated with Against the Grain Ensemble on JUNO-nominated classical album, Ayre. She performed the Nielsen Flute Concerto with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Yale Philharmonia, and gave the world premiere of Joseph Schwantner’s Chapel Music with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. As part of the Yale in New York concert series, she performed the Nielsen Wind Quintet at Carnegie Hall, receiving acclaim for “a lovely flute cadenza” from the New York Classical Review. Ms. Wu has premiered works of a diverse range of composers including Osvaldo Golijov, Bright Sheng, Hannah Lash, and she actively performs in the Suzhou Symphony Chamber Music Series. In addition, she is co-founder of the GuJo Duo, flute and percussion duo dedicated to engaging performances of contemporary music.
Prior to her appointment, Ms. Wu worked as a Fellow with the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residency Program in Canada. Her accolades include the coveted Thomas Daniel Nyfenger Prize from the Yale School of Music, Farwell Trust Award from the Musicians Club of Women, and top prizes from the Yale Woolsey Concerto Competition, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra Instrumental Competition, Friends of the Minnesota Orchestra Competition, American Protégé International Woodwind and Brass Competition, and National Flute Association Young Artist Competition.
A passionate advocate for education, Ms. Wu has worked with students from the Shanghai International Youth Orchestra Festival, Soochow University School of Music, Suzhou Culture and Arts Center Music School, and established private studios in the United States and China. She has also been a teaching artist with the Music In Schools Initiative program in New Haven public schools, and is actively committed to outreach.
Ms. Wu earned a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music and Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Her teachers include Ransom Wilson, Susan Hoeppner, Walfrid Kujala, John Thorne, and John Oberbrunner. She is a W.m S. Haynes Artist and plays a custom 14K handmade flute