Pittsburgh Symphony Violinist Retires After 36 Years

Violinist Chris Wu will be retiring from his position in the orchestra’s first violin section

Christopher Wu joined the first violin section of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in 1988, and holds the Nancy & Jeffery Leininger First Violin Chair. 

Wu has also performed with the Boston Symphony, and the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, and appeared at the Aspen, Tanglewood, Brevard, Heidelberg, Savannah, Masterworks, Stockbridge, and St. Bart’s Music Festivals, 

His chamber music partners have included Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Emanuel Ax, and the Muir String Quartet. 

A graduate of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music, Wu is an adjunct professor of violin at Carnegie Mellon University, plus has taught master classes at universities including Texas, Oklahoma, Penn State, West Virginia, Youngstown, Ottawa, and Tanglewood’s Boston University. 

Many of Wu’s students have won prestigious positions in ensembles worldwide, including in the Pittsburgh Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. 

Additionally, he has represented the Pittsburgh Symphony on ESPN and in ads for Eyetique and Allegheny General Hospital. Wu plays on a 1727 violin crafted by Nicolo Gagliano.

Following his retirement, Wu will continue to perform and bring music to communities, specifically to support mental health and wellbeing. 

“I’ll be working on ways to bring music to mental health patients,” Wu told the Post Gazette. “We know anxiety and depression have gotten worse in this country and that pills aren't the answer for a lot of individuals’ situations. Maybe there are some holistic ways that we as musicians can be a part of the solution.”