Dr. Yu-Chun Kuo is a native of Taipei, Taiwan. She was trained in piano from age five, then transition to percussion major afterwards. She moved to the United States and earned two Bachelors degrees majoring in Percussion Performance and Music Industry from the University of Southern California, studying with Erik Forrester. She completed her Master’s degree at Baylor University, graduating with honors under the direction of Todd Meehan. Later she earned her Doctorate at the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music studying with the renowned Cincinnati Percussion Group with scholarship. Dr. Kuo enjoys collaborating with other artists and devotes herself in the creation and performance of new music. She has commissioned works from David Lang and Alejandro Viñao among many others, and has presented numerous premieres.

Besides her career as a percussionist, Dr. Kuo is also a freelance arts management administrator. She worked on various projects such as Play For The Vote, Youth Music Culture Guangdong with Yo-Yo Ma and Michael Stern, and served as the tour manager for Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band’s North American Tour. Prior to joining Stanford Jazz Workshop, she was the Concert Manager at Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View where she oversaw the CSMA concert series.