Described as “brilliant” by the Pittsburgh Tribune, Wei-Han Wu is active as a soloist, chamber musician, ensemble pianist, and vocal coach. He has performed in venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center, the Kennedy Center, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. He has been a featured performer at the Tanglewood, Aspen, Castleton, Lake George, and Walla Walla Chamber Music Festivals.
Dedicated to the performance and promotion of new music, Wu is currently pianist for the [Switch~ Ensemble] as well as Duo Axis, which was co-founded with flutist Zach Sheets. Duo Axis has commissioned and premiered dozens of works by up-and-coming composers, including Katie Balch, Anthony Cheung, and Tonia Ko. Recently the duo was in residence at the University of Iowa, University of Missouri, UC San Diego, and UC Davis. Wu previously served as pianist for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, and he is a past president of OSSIA New Music.
As an accomplished vocal coach, Wu has worked with artists such as Susanne Mentzer, Vinson Cole, and Nancy Gustafson. He is currently on faculty at Shenandoah University and Peabody Conservatory, and served on the faculty for WNO’s Opera Institute. More recently, Wu has served as music director for several opera productions in the D.C. area, including Carmen with Loudon Lyric Opera, and Hydrogen Jukebox by Philip Glass at Shenandoah University. Wu is the pianist for The Washington Chorus, and he works frequently with the Washington Bach Consort, and the Exigence Vocal Ensemble of the Sphinx Organization.
A member of Pi Kappa Lambda, he is the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Juilliard School, the Felicia Montealegre Fellowship from the Tanglewood Music Center, and the Collaborative Piano Fellowship from Bard College. Wu holds degrees from Northwestern University, the University of Michigan, and the Eastman School of Music, where he earned two doctoral degrees in piano performance and collaborative piano.