Biography

Design thinking creating fresh connections to music of the past and future

Noted for her “lightness, grace, and purity,”(New York Times) and the expressive authority and sensitivity of her playing, violinist Szuhwa Wu’s performances build “a stimulating tension” (Neue Zuercher Zeitung) with a flair for the imaginative and unexpected.  Equally adept in period performance and contemporary repertoire, Ms. Wu’s performance credits range from New York’s Lincoln Center and Miller Theatre, to the Paris Philharmonie, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, and the National Theater of Taipei.  

Szuhwa Wu’s trans-disciplinary projects include her signature “Playing On The Edge” recital that pairs historical works on period violin with recent compositions for violin and electronics.  Her contemporary string quartet, Quatuor Impact, partners with leading lighting, costume designers, composers, and choreographers to create multimedia shows at the intersection of acoustic instrument and technology.  She has also designed performances for the Centre Pompidou (Paris), Musée de la vie romantique (Paris), and the National Theatre (Besançon). In all her work, Szuhwa Wu challenges and expands listeners’ imaginations, inviting audiences to become immersed in new creative environments.

She has shared the stage with musicians such as Mischa Maisky, Isabelle Druet, Guillom Bellom, John Stulz, Arthur Schoonderwoerd, and conductors such as Matthias Pintscher, Riccardo Chailly, François-Xavier Roth, and Pierre Boulez.  She has collaborated with groups such as Ensemble Intercontemporain, Les Siècles orchestra, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Ensemble Cristofori, and premiered works by Tristan Murail, Karl Aage Rasmussen, Giacomo Platini, Dai Fujikura, and Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch.

A notably vibrant and unifying leader, Szuhwa Wu embodies the values of excellence, respect, and collaboration in all avenues of her career.  She currently serves as associate concertmaster of Orchestre Victor Hugo and regularly leads Ensemble Tetraktys, Chaarts chamber artists, Ensemble XXI.n, and Lucerne Festival Alumni Orchestra.  

Unyielding to the traditional boundaries in the field, Szuhwa Wu is a pioneer and thought leader in new music advocacy and pedagogy.  She launched the “Digital Creative” and the “New Music Workshop” at the Montbéliard and Besançon Conservatories respectively, and frequently offers creative workshops and performances. She currently holds the position of professor of violin and chamber music at the Conservatory of Besançon. 

Having earned undergraduate degrees from both Columbia University and The Juilliard School, Ms. Wu also holds a master’s degree in violin performance from the Juilliard School as well as a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from Harvard. Her studies also brought her to the Hochschule fur Musik in Zurich with Zakhar Bron and Nora Chastain.  

A mother of two soccer-crazed boys, Szuhwa enjoys mountain biking through the Juras mountains of her home region in Eastern France, seeking out the perfect brew of Taiwanese tea, and working her way through recipes incorporating the 350+ varieties of French cheese.