Dr. Wesley Chu

Videogame Music Collaboration

Tuesday April 02, 2024 12:30pm
Location
Old Little Theater

Workshop: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM,  OLT Stage
Student Presentations: 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM, OLT 

Dive into the world of video game music with our immersive workshop, designed for students passionate about game soundtracks. This hands-on experience offers the unique opportunity to learn from industry professionals, including presentations and masterclass feedback from our guest artist, Dr. Wesley Chu, a Canadian pianist and accomplished composer with a rich background in music performance and composition. Whether you're a composer, musician, or audio engineer, this workshop will enhance your skills and deepen your understanding of video game music composition and sound design. Join us for a journey that promises to be as educational as it is inspiring, opening new pathways in the art of video game music.

Bio
Canadian pianist Dr. Wesley Chu has been playing piano since the young age of three. At five years old, he completed Grades 1 to 10 of the RCM Examinations, and at only ten years old, he had completed his ARCT, the highest level of the RCM. An accomplished pianist at such a young age, Wesley has performed for many significant political figures and events such as Queen Elizabeth II at age six, Nelson Mandela at age seven, Pope John Paul II in Vatican City, and the Celebration of the Handover of Hong Kong to China at age eight among others.

Wesley has soloed with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra at four years old, collaborated with popular singers Andy Lau (劉德華) and William So (蘇永康), performed at the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards, Polytechnic University Auditorium in Hong Kong, and the Publick Playhouse in Washington, D.C., and has released a CD with Warner Music. He has also earned top prizes at international competitions including the Foundation for Chinese Performing Arts Annual Concerto Competition and the Sixth International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition for Young Artists. He was also a prizewinner at the Canadian Music Competition and the National Music Festival, the Mondavi Young Artists Competition, and the NTD Piano Competition.

Wesley is currently an active performer, composer and pedagogue in Los Angeles, and earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts, studying with Dr. Stewart Gordon, as an International Artist Fellow at the University of Southern California majoring in Piano, Composition, Arts Leadership, and Music Theory. He has also received degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied with Alexander Korsantia, Meng-Chieh Liu, and Hung-Kuan Chen.

Wesley is the founder of Zenkora Studios, the multimedia fantasy production company, and a founding member of the Super Piano Brothers, a groundbreaking piano duo specializing in self-arranged and composed media music.