Emily Wu, age 16, currently studies piano with Dr. Hanchien Lee. Previously, she has studied with Natalie Zhu and Joy Kiszely. She also has lessons with Curtis Institute of Music faculty Ke-chia Chen for music theory and composition.
Emily made her orchestral debut with Kostroma Symphony Orchestra in Russia at age 9 and performed with Concert Festival Orchestra in New York at age 10. At 11 years old, she was a prize-winner in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 2018 Albert M. Greenfield Concerto Competition. Emily was also the Alternate winner in the MTNA Pennsylvania State competition and a Grand Prize winner of the International Young Artists Competition. She was a First prize winner of the Tri-County Youth Festival’s Junior and Senior Piano Division, which led to a live radio broadcast performance on WRTI 90.1 FM studio. Recently Emily was the 2nd prize winner of the Lyra Music Youth Competition, and the first prize winner in the Bosendorfer Youth Music Competition for chamber music. Additionally, Emily was the top prize winner at numerous other regional and international competitions, such as the American Protégé International Piano and String Competition, American Fine Arts Festival Competition, Paderewski International Piano Competition, and World Piano Competition.
Emily actively participates in Temple University’s Music Prep Center for Gifted Young Musicians Youth Chamber Music Group, playing in piano trios and performing in Rock Hall, Philadelphia. This summer, she also performed in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Emily has performed in Carnegie Hall numerous times from age 6, most recently at Dr. Andor and Joy Kiszely’s Memorial Recital. She has also performed at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall, Ehrbar Hall and Mozart Haus in Vienna, Robert Schumann Museum in Zwickau, Russian Center for Science and Culture in Paris, and Kurozweki Palace in Poland. During the summer of 2022, Emily attended Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute Young Artist Piano Program in Lenox, MA, with a merit scholarship. This summer, Emily attended the Colburn Piano Seminar for Advanced Piano students in Los Angeles, CA.
She has had master classes with international teachers including Robert McDonald, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Michelle Cann, Irina Plotnilkova (Moscow Conservatory), Christina and Michelle Naughton, etc.
Besides music, Emily loves to learn foreign languages. She studies French and Spanish in school and enjoys learning other foreign languages on her own. She also to bake desserts, read, and travel the world.
You can find Emily’s 2023 World Music Competition piano performance here.
You can find Emily’s 2023 European Music Competition piano performance here.