Oliver Ray Wu, 15, is a sophomore at Friends School of Baltimore. He didn’t start studying violin until age 10, when he began to work with Megan Bradshaw. A year later, he earned a place in the Baltimore Symphony Youth Orchestra String Orchestra, where he played for two years and also performed with a chamber group. For two summers, he attended Baltimore String Orchestra Camp. At age 13, he began playing with the BSYO Concert Orchestra. In the summer of 2023, Oliver went on tour with the BSYO Youth Orchestra to five European cities, playing Dvorak, Gershwin and other music in cities from Venice to Prague. In his work on concertos, Oliver has played Felix Mendelssohn’s first movement and Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole.
This fall, Oliver began studying with Vitaly Briskin and is playing the Allegro Moderato from Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G Minor. Oliver is a leader in the BSYO Concert Orchestra, as well as his school orchestra, and the Friends School’s Fiddle Club. He has also participated in a trip to the Ashokan Center to learn traditional fiddle music from musicians including Jay Ungar, the folk musician and composer of “Ashokan Farewell.” When Oliver is not practicing his violin, he loves playing basketball, where he was the top scorer last year on the Junior Varsity Team. He also enjoys anime, spending time in nature, and listening to great orchestral masterpieces.
You can find Oliver’s 2023 Romantic Music Competition violin performance here.