Yen-Chen Wu

Hailing from Tainan, Taiwan, Yen-Chen Wu began studying bassoon at the age of nine. After performing as a concerto soloist with the University of Taipei and Taipei Wind Orchestra, she received second prize in the Asian Double Reed Association International Solo Competition. As a result, she performed Weber’s Andante e rondo ongarese with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. Yen-Chen’s concert activities have taken her to Japan, Thailand, Germany, Canada, and the US.

In 2015, Yen-Chen became the first bassoonist to win the Serge and Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Award for woodwinds and brass instruments since 1983. In addition, she has won many other prizes at student competitions at Tainan and Taipei, as well as at the Yale School of Music and the University of Taipei. She was recognized at the Taipei Wind Orchestra’s national concerto competition. She has participated in master classes and been invited to major music festivals, where she has worked with Akio Koyama, Kim Walker, Daniel Matsukawa, Yoshi Ishikawa, Heloman Jung, Patricia Rogers, Billy Short, and Hanno Dönneweg.

Yen-Chen earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Taipei, where she studied with Chia-Chu Hsu, and her master’s degree at the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Frank Morelli. She is now pursuing a doctorate at Stony Brook University.