Quote:Ditching a tenured seat in the Houston Symphony to pursue a dream as a recording artist terrified Christine Wu.

But on the cusp of 30, she knew it was the only way to go. “All or nothing,” Wu said in a recent interview. “And it scares the crap out of me, probably almost every day.”

Switching from classical to rock wasn’t that difficult for Wu, a self-proclaimed “black sheep in the orchestra,” who grew up listening to rock instead of reserving all her time for the diligent study of traditional composers.

“I don’t try to sound classical at all,” she says. “I try to sound less nerdy, really.”

The now-31-year-old Santa Monica resident grew up playing the old masters, a violinist from the age of three who remembers the excitement of her first youth orchestra.

But even as she excelled, landing her first professional gig at the age of 17 in the orchestra pit at the Pittsburgh Opera, something was pulling her towards a less traditional path.

“I was listening to Jane’s Addiction. I was listening to Led Zeppelin,” she said. “As soon as I was old enough to really develop a strong interest in Metallica and hearing strings on Led Zeppelin, that really took over my focus.”

Wu spent time playing with the St. Louis Symphony before getting her biggest job, as a full-time tenured violinist at the Houston Symphony.

“Tenure is basically the job for life, unless the orchestra disappeared, so it was really something to give up,” Wu said. Three months paid vacation couldn’t keep her from uprooting last April and moving on to California for a career in the record business.

“It was really scary, but I’m sure now that it was the right thing.”

...Since her arrival Wu has enjoyed her first breaks playing studio sessions and, most recently, signing on for a world tour with Leonard Cohen, who’s been on sabbatical from the live show circuit for some 15 years.

“That was an amazing experience,” she said just after the audition for the songwriting legend. “It seems like everyone’s done a cover of his. He was really nice and had a certain intensity. By the end of each song I was just amazed.”

So far, Wu has wracked up gigs on American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and playing back-up for the Foo Fighters on Grammy night. That last one was courtesy of showcasing furious bowing skill in a YouTube video contest.

“The Grammys was a blast!” Wu said. “We got to rehearse with the Foo Fighters and hang out with them. It was really cool.”

The talented violinist has also done some string plucking for both Beyonce and Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child fame and for Nickelodeon’s The Naked Brothers Band.

“It’s a different language,” Wu said, of switching from the somber orchestral pieces to rock ‘n roll rhythms. Part of that is being thrust into the role of accompaniment for a lead vocalist. “If there’s already a rock band there, you should enhance that and not get in the way,” she said.

For now she’s flying solo, with no back-up plan.

“I’m sure that I imagined that I could practice and audition again for an orchestra,” she says. “You just don’t know where your next call comes from. It’s tough. Ultimately I want to be producing and writing and arranging the strings and be the force behind it,” she says.

Though there will always be the allure of the stage lights. “I really do love that.”

http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/features/the-diva-of-the-violin/

(03-22-2013, 09:07 PM)Miguel Wrote: March 2008 article about Wu:

Ditching a tenured seat in the Houston Symphony to pursue a dream as a recording artist terrified Christine Wu.

But on the cusp of 30, she knew it was the only way to go. “All or nothing,” Wu said in a recent interview. “And it scares the crap out of me, probably almost every day.”

Quote:Christine performs her composition Jenna's Song on piano & violin, then carries her cello to her Mercedes-Benz TV dream convertible, straps the cello into the passenger seat and speeds off into the night.

Quote:Blogett Bird ‏@dromMomma
Note from Momma REINHART. "I'm in Arizona rite now + sitting. & having dinner 4 seats from Reba + 4 seats from david foster, on the other side of me at this large oval table in front of the stage that . Haley will soon partake singing on... Wow!

Quote:howieschwa
Celeb Fight Night Founders Dinner #holyfield #haleyreinhart #tatestevens #davidfoster #kwarner #reba #muhammadali #stevemartin

Quote:Each year on the night prior to Celebrity Fight Night we present a private Founders Club dinner. This is really the Champ's small dinner party where 16-time Grammy-winner David Foster directs live entertainment for our group. Founders Club members receive photographs taken with our celebrity guests; and are acknowledged at the main event from the stage and on the big screens, along with a photograph in the event program.

Membership in the Founders Club is by invitation only.

Quote:Andy Gelb ‏@AndyGelbPR 4h

Kick off to @CelebFightNight Founders Club Evening! #CFN.

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@ShopJami: Highlight of our day? Meeting the gorgeous and talented @haleyreinhart and her adorable mother! so sweet!!!

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Rita Wilson on the mic! #celebrityfightnight 2h

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@HaleyReinhart @tatestevensctry @reba it was an honor to be part of such a special evening with you all can't wait for tomorrow night!

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@HaleyReinhart w @officialdfoster-sang like the superstar she is, last night! What a voice, and beautiful inside and out!