Yaoji Giuseppe Fu was appointed Second Trombonist of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in January 2023 while earning his undergraduate degree from the Juilliard School.
Born in Hong Kong, Giuseppe first started his trombone journey in 2012 with Mr. Jarod Vermette, Principal Trombonist of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. At 15, he moved to New York City to study bass trombone with Dr. Denson Paul Pollard at The Juilliard Pre-College on full scholarship. Since then, he has won various competitions. Notably, he was the first bass trombonist to win the concerto competition of The Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra in 2016. He made his bass trombone solo debut by premiering Eric Ewazen’s Concertino for Bass Trombone and Orchestra with the Pre-College Orchestra. In 2017, Giuseppe won the George Roberts Bass Trombone Competition at the International Trombone Festival.
Giuseppe then switched back to tenor trombone under the tutelage of Joseph Alessi. In 2018, he won the Asia Brass Festival Trombone Competition (age 16-21 category) in Taipei, Taiwan. In 2022, he won the National Repertory Orchestra concerto competition, where he made his tenor trombone solo debut with the orchestra by performing Nino Rota’s Trombone Concerto.
In addition to being a soloist and orchestral trombonist, Giuseppe is also an active chamber musician. He is one of the founders of Metropolis Brass, a sought-after brass quintet based in New York City. In 2021, he had the privilege of participating in the American Brass Quintet Seminar with Brass22 and performed with the American Brass Quintet at the Aspen Music Festival as a fellow.
Giuseppe was honored to perform with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under the batons of world-class conductors Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, and Long Yu.
Giuseppe is the holder of the HK Jockey Club Music & Dance Fund Scholarship, and a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship at The Juilliard School, in the studio of Mr. Joseph Alessi (class of 2023).
In Giuseppe’s spare time, he enjoys cooking, and exercising, and is an avid car enthusiast.
“I’ve always adored the sound of Edwards trombones since I was little: full of brilliance, yet tremendously refined. Ever since I built my very own, everything about it is second to none. I’m very pleased to say the least.”