Bin Hu

Born in 1987 in Tianjin, a city near Beijing, Bin Hu was a pupil of Jiajiong Li, the classical guitar teacher from the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music, during his early years of guitar study in China. In 2005, he was admitted to the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre for his undergraduate studies. Over the last decade, his studies have taken him to most of the European countries and to the United States. He attended master classes of world-renowned guitarists such as David Russell, Sérgio and Odair Assad, Leo Brouwer, Manuel Barrueco, Ricardo Gallén, Timo Korhonen and Thomas Müller-Pering. His extensive study experiences across the world not only enriched his knowledge of interpretation of various musical styles, but also elevated his performing arts to an international level. In 2012, he obtained his Master’s Degree with distinction from the Mozarteum University of Salzburg under Professor Marco Tamayo.

Bin Hu has been awarded a great number of top prizes in various guitar competitions around the world. Most recently, he was selected as the winner of the 2016 David Russell Bach Prize. David Russell, the sole judge of this competition, remarked after hearing his interpretation of Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003, “Bin’s performance was powerful and convincing, among the best performances of this sonata I have heard.” He also was awarded 2nd prize in the VII Guitar Competition of Nordic Countries and Baltic Academies, 3rd prize in the IV Annual Indiana International Guitar Competition, 2nd prize in the 2014 Sholin Memorial Guitar Competition and 1st prize in the VI Tucson Guitar Competition.

His frequent concert appearances in Europe, the United States and China have established Bin’s name as an active performer among other young guitarists. He was featured as soloist in collaboration with various symphony orchestras and conductors such as Jorma Panula. With the Pärnu City Symphony Orchestra (Estonia), he gave the world premiere of the guitar concerto Dos Mundos written by Spanish composer Jorge Rodriguez-Caballero in 2008. The live performance was broadcast nationwide by the Estonian National Radio. As chamber musician, his collaborations with other instrumentalists have contributed a significant number of new arrangements to the guitar chamber music repertoire. In 2013, his arrangement of the Ouverture de I Masnadieri by Giuseppe Verdi was recorded in a CD dedicated to Verdi’s 200-year anniversary and published in Italy. His new CD featuring his transcriptions of Bach’s violin Sonatas and Partitas will also be released at the end of 2016.

Bin Hu is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate at the University of Arizona, where he also serves as a teaching assistant in the Bolton Guitar Studies Program under Professor Thomas Patterson. He is invited regularly to perform in festivals, give master classes and judge guitar competitions. In 2014, he was selected by the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) committee and featured in the GFA Regional Symposium Showcase Concert in Phoenix. Last summer, he played a concert and teaching tour, which covered nine cities and provinces in China, and will expand to more venues this year. By invitation, he gave lectures on Baroque performance practice in several Chinese institutes, including the Shandong International Forum of Classical Guitar Elites and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. Several local newspapers and music journals have written reviews on his professional activities.

photo: from Artist’s website at Onepointfm.com