Guest Artist Recital: Tze-Ying Wu and Jacob Coleman

Program

Sonata No. 1 for Viola and Piano (1955) Bohuslav Martinů
I. Poco andante (1890-1959)
II. Allegro non troppo

Let Down by Radiohead Christopher O’Riley
(b. 1956)

in manus tuas for Solo Viola (2009) Caroline Shaw
(b. 1982)

Fantasy for Solo Viola (2014) Ellen Taaffe Zwilich
(b. 1939)

Sonata No. 1 for Viola and Piano (1926) Nikolai Roslavets
(1880 – 1944)

Dr. Tze-Ying Wu is an Associate Professor of Viola and String Education at the University of Kentucky and the director of the UK String Project. Before joining the University of Kentucky, she was the founding director of the Sturgis Music Academy (now ASO String Academy) of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Dr. Wu earned her Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees in viola performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, studying under Professor Atar Arad. She has also worked closely with Mimi Zweig and Dr. Brenda Brenner as a violin/viola instructor at Indiana University String Academy. Her undergraduate studies culminated in a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from National Taiwan Normal University.

Dr. Wu’s performance experience includes playing with orchestras such as the Lexington Philharmonic, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra. As a dedicated chamber musician, she performs extensively with her harp trio, the Formosa Trio. The trio recently premiered commissioned works by Zhou Tian and Hsieh Tsung Jen at the American Harp Society’s 2023 Summer Institute at Colburn School and gave a recital at the National Taichung Theater in Taiwan. Their performances have also graced the stages of the 13th World Harp Congress in Hong Kong, the University of Illinois, Western Illinois University, Central Michigan University, Shanghai Concert Hall, and the National Concert Hall in Taipei. Their album, “First Impression,” was released in 2018.

In addition to her academic year commitments, Dr. Wu contributes her expertise during the summer as a faculty member at the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts and the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. She is an active member of the American String Teachers Association and the American Viola Society, and she currently serves as the board president for the National String Project Consortium. In recognition of her contributions to music education, Dr. Wu was honored with the Outstanding Educator Award by the Kentucky Chapter of the American String Teachers Association in 2024.

A native of Athens, Georgia, pianist Jacob Coleman is Associate Professor of Piano and Collaborative Piano at the University of Kentucky School of Music. As a collaborator, Dr. Coleman has performed with artists such as Franklin Cohen, David Kim, Jeff Nelsen, Leone Busye, Amy Porter as well as the Zohn Collective and Kenari Quartet. He has served as an official pianist for the Mid-South Flute Fest, National Trumpet Competition, ProjetoBone Brasil (2019), and Muestra Internacional de Clarinete de Panamá (2019). Coleman has also frequently appeared at the North American Saxophone Alliance and International Double Reed Society conferences.

Prior to coming to Kentucky Dr. Coleman taught at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he directed the Collaborative Piano Program and created a new doctoral degree. From 2014-2016, he served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. For six summers, he was a member of the piano staff at the Meadowmount School of Music founded by Ivan Galamian. Dr. Coleman holds degrees from The University of Texas at Austin (DMA, Collaborative Piano), University of Oregon (MM, Collaborative Piano), and University of Georgia (BM, Piano Performance). His primary teachers were Richard Zimdars, David Riley, and Anne Epperson.