News Release

Julia Wu, a graduating senior from New York City, has been named co-recipient of The Johns Hopkins University's 2004 Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts for her piano performances of Liszt, Rachmaninoff and Prokoviev. She shares the award with another graduating senior, Ga-Young "Claire" Jeong, a cellist from Seoul, Korea.

The $1,500 Sudler Prize is awarded annually, typically to one graduating senior or fourth-year medical student who does not plan to pursue a career in the arts but displays artistic talent. This year, Wu and Jeong were both selected out of 17 applicants to receive the prize. The prize money was divided equally between Jeong and Wu.

"I was very surprised to win. I thought that there are so many musicians I would never be chosen," said Wu, who last month earned a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies. As a student, she recorded performances of Liszt's "Un Sospiro," Rachmaninoff's "Prelude in G Minor" and Prokoviev's "Selections from Romeo and Juliet."

Wu, 22, plans on getting her master's degree at the Mannes School of Music in piano performance, her minor at Johns Hopkins, before applying to medical school. "I truly feel that a huge part of me is music, since it influences what activities I do, what clubs I join and what I enjoy talking about," said Wu, who studied piano at The Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins with Corey McVicar. "So I felt like it was almost necessary for me to achieve a goal higher than what I've accomplished so far."

Wu tried to involve herself in music as much as she could while she was at Johns Hopkins, she said. As a Woodrow Wilson Research Fellow, she traveled to Taiwan last winter to spend some time with aborigine tribes to study their music.

"Music has made me a better listener," she said, "And I hope I can use that skill when I study to be a doctor."

Wu is the daughter of Mr. Hsi-Chi Wu. She is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York City. For information, contact Amy Cowles at 443-287-9960.