Joanna Wu is a versatile and internationally active flutist, educator, and performer, currently serving as Principal Flute of the Spokane Symphony. Originally from New York State, she has established an international career spanning North America, Asia, and Europe, with performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Canadian Opera Company, Koerner Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall, Suntory Hall, Taipei National Theater and Concert Hall, and the United Nations Headquarters. Her performances have been broadcast on Chinese National CCTV, Performance Today, and NPR, earning widespread acclaim. 

Previously the Assistant Principal Flute of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, she has collaborated with members of Orchestre de Paris, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and Haifa Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Shanghai Opera House, New World Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, and The Syracuse Orchestra. She has worked under the direction of renowned conductors including Riccardo Muti, Jaap van Zweden, Daniel Oren, Valery Gergiev, Peter Oundjian, Carolyn Kuan, Roberto Abbado, Bramwell Tovey, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Yu Long, Xu Zhong, and Shin-ik Hahm.

A dedicated advocate for chamber and contemporary music, Ms. Wu has appeared at Chamber Music Northwest and collaborated with Against the Grain Ensemble on the JUNO-nominated album Ayre. She has performed Nielsen’s Flute Concerto with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Yale Philharmonia, and gave the premiere of Joseph Schwantner’s Chapel Music with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. As part of Yale in New York Series, she performed Nielsen’s Wind Quintet at Carnegie Hall, receiving praise from the New York Classical Review. Her repertoire also includes premieres of works by Osvaldo Golijov, Bright Sheng, and Hannah Lash. She is co-founder of GuJo Duo, a flute and percussion ensemble devoted to contemporary music. 

Her honors include the Thomas Daniel Nyfenger Prize, the Farwell Trust Award from the Musicians Club of Women, top prizes in the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, and first prizes in the Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra Instrumental Competition, and American Protégé International Competition. She was also a Fellow of the Rebanks Family Fellowship Program in Canada.

An active and passionate educator, Ms. Wu has taught masterclasses at Soochow University School of Music and Zhejiang Conservatory of Music, worked with students of the Shanghai International Youth Orchestra, established private studios in North America and Asia, and served as a teaching artist with the Music In Schools Initiative in New Haven. In addition to her work as a flutist, she is an accomplished pianist and has collaborated with members of the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, the flute studios of Yale University and Northwestern University, and numerous local ensembles and chamber groups. She holds degrees in flute and piano performance from the Yale School of Music and Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. Her principal teachers include Ransom Wilson, Susan Hoeppner, Walfrid Kujala, John Thorne, and John Oberbrunner. She is a Wm. S. Haynes Artist and performs on a custom handmade 14K gold flute.