Wei Yu was appointed Principal Cello of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2014 by then Music Director Leonard Slatkin. He made his subscription debut performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in November 2015 and has since appeared as soloist almost every season, to resounding acclaim. Before joining the DSO, Yu was a member of the New York Philharmonic for seven seasons.
Yu was a prizewinner at the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String, Holland-America Music Society Cello, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA National Collegiate Strings), Canada’s National Music Festival, Calgary’s Kiwanis Music Festival, and China’s National Cello competitions.
An avid chamber musician, Yu has been invited to the Marlboro, Ravinia, Great Lakes, and Mainly Mozart music festivals, and has recently collaborated with musicians such as cellists Carter Brey and David Soyer, pianists Richard Goode and Menahem Pressler, violinists Augustin Hadelich, Midori, and Pinchas Zukerman, and members of the Guarneri, Emerson, and Juilliard quartets. As a member of New York Philharmonic Ensembles, he made regular appearances at Merkin Concert Hall.
Yu currently serves on the faculty of the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has given cello masterclasses at universities and festivals in the United States, Canada, and China. During the summer Yu teaches at the Meadowmount School of Music and the Morningside Music Bridge International Music Festival at the New England Conservatory. He also regularly serves on the faculty of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA).
Born in Shanghai, China, Yu began studying the cello at age 4 and made his concerto debut at age 11, performing Elgar’s Cello Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He received his B.M. from North Park University in Chicago and M.M. from the Juilliard School. His principal teachers include Mei-Juan Liu, John Kadz, Hans Jørgen Jensen, and David Soyer. He performs on the 1720 “Bedetti” David Tecchler cello, on generous loan from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Yu was a member of the PMF Academy in 2003. This year he returns to serve as a member of the PMF faculty for the first time.