What: After an intense audition process, the Jacksonville Symphony hired Kaiyuan Wu as a Section Violinist for the upcoming 2025/26 Season. Wu has studied at prestigious institutions, including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, The Glenn Gould School and USC Thornton School of Music, working with renowned teachers like Wei He, Paul Kantor and Bing Wang, Associate Concertmaster of Los Angeles Philharmonic. A winner of multiple competitions, including the 2017 SFCM Violin Concerto Competition and the 2019 MTNA Chamber Music Competition, he has performed internationally in esteemed festivals, masterclasses and concert halls, currently playing a 2016 violin made by Robert Brewer Young.
When: Kaiyuan Wu will begin as a Jacksonville Symphony Section Violinist at the start of the 2025/26 Season in September.
Bio: Violinist Kaiyuan Wu was born in Shanghai, China in 1998, and started playing the violin at age of 4. He received his early music education at the prestigious Elementary School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of Professor Lei Fang. He holds Bachelor of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied with Wei He, Ian Swensen and Chen Zhao. He then pursued an Artist Diploma at The Glenn Gould School of Royal Conservatory of Music where he studied with Paul Kantor and Barry Shiffman. He won the position of Jacksonville Symphony while he was pursuing Graduate Certificate at USC Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Bing Wang, Associate Concertmaster of Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Wu won the first prize of 2017 San Francisco Conservatory of Music Violin Concerto Competition and soloed with the Conservatory Orchestra in the 2017/18 Conservatory Centennial Season. He also won Second Prize at the Diablo Symphony Orchestra Yen Liang Young Artist Competition. As an avid chamber musician, he has participated in many chamber music festivals and competitions. He won the National First Prize of 2019 MTNA Chamber Music Competition. He also received the Barbara Fritz Chamber Music Award in 2020. He was also invited to perform at 10th Osaka International Chamber Music Competition and Gianni Bergamo International Chamber Music Competition in Lugano, Switzerland.
Wu was chosen to participate in the 2022 Leonidas Kavakos International Violin Masterclass in Athens, Greece. He also worked with many other world-renowned violinists, including Glenn Dicterow, James Ehnes, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Ida Kavafian, Maxim Vengerov, Ray Chen etc.
While at school, Wu was appointed to be section leader for many years and he has been to some prestigious festivals such as Orford Musique and Moritzburg Festival. Recently he played as a member of the Moritzburg Festival Orchestra and performed in some of the most iconic concert halls in Germany such as Kulturpalast Dresden and König Albert Theatre Bad Elster.
For more information about the 75th Anniversary Season and to view the full list of the Jacksonville Symphony’s musicians, visit JaxSymphony.org.
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