Cong Wu

Cong Wu joined the New York Philharmonic as Assistant Principal Viola, The Norma and Lloyd Chazen Chair, in September 2018. He is the winner of the Third Prize and the Chamber Music Prize in the Fourteenth Primrose International Viola Competition, and of the Special Prize in the Twelfth Tertis International Viola Competition. His performances throughout North America and Asia include solo appearances with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Macau Youth Orchestra, and New York Classical Players.

An avid chamber musician, Mr. Wu has collaborated with Christoph Eschenbach, David Finckel, Itzhak Perlman, Peter Wiley, Pinchas Zukerman, American String Quartet, and many New York Philharmonic musicians. His festival engagements have included the Marlboro Music Festival, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Encounters, Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Perlman Music Program, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany. He also appears regularly with the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players, East Coast Chamber Orchestra, and New York Classical Players.

Passionate about teaching, Mr. Wu served as a guest faculty member of the National Arts Centre Summer Music Institute in Canada and as a teaching artist at the Music@Menlo Winter Residency. He has been invited to give masterclasses at the Manhattan School of Music, Mead Witter School of Music (University of Wisconsin-Madison), China Conservatory of Music, Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Renmin University of China.

Born in Jinan, China, Cong (pronounced “Ts’ong”) Wu moved to New York in 2010 after graduating from the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. He holds a master’s degree from The Juilliard School and a doctoral degree from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Wing Ho, Heidi Castleman, Hsin-Yun Huang, Patinka Kopec, and Pinchas Zukerman.