Francis Wu, HK 1992 (1931-2002)
The Kroks met Francis Wu through his son, Dino, a member of the Kroks of 1992. Francis was a renowned concert pianist, educator and public figure in the artistic and musical life of Taiwan. Francis worked hard to make the Taiwan portion of the tour be great – starting with a warm welcome at the airport and introducing them to the history of the island.
Kroks welcomed at airport
Kroks at Chang Kai-shek Memorial
He also arranged what was by far the largest concert of the 1992 summer tour, at a major recital hall in Taipei. To fill up time, they sang practically every song they had learned over the course of the year (and even learned the national anthem of Taiwan).
The audience included Yu Kuo-hwa, the former premier of Taiwan, and his wife. To the audience’s delight, the Kroks managed to get her on stage for “What’s Your Name?” Also in attendance was Ma Ying-jeou, President of the Harvard Club of Taiwan at the time. He would go on to become Mayor of Taipei and then President of Taiwan.
Francis arranged some fantastic meals, including lunch at the dumpling restaurant Din Tai Fung (before it became an international phenomenon) and dinner at the American Club in China, where the Kroks also received a very generous donation from local alumni. The most lavish dinner was at the Bankers Club in Taipei.
Before the dinner, the Kroks held a special meeting in the back of the van that ferried them around for the duration of the trip (and, at Francis’ request, had been donated by the Harvard Club and President Ma). They decided to make Francis an Honorary Krok and invited him up onto stage that night to induct him.
As his traditional, they also asked him to join them in singing of our alumni song, Johnny O’Connor. He followed right along, a bit bewildered by the choreography at first but he got it by the end!
In addition to wanting to thank him for his incredible support of the tour, the group recognized that Francis had many of the qualities that Kroks share: a deep and abiding love of music, a relentless perfectionism. The Kroks pleaded with him to play a song on the piano and he deferred, saying “No, no, I haven’t practiced enough.”
Per Michael-Johnson Cramer at the 60th Anniversary Memorial Service:
“This wonderful musician and man had a sense of humor, of liveliness, a deep and abiding love for the Krokodiloes, an amazing vitality about him, and that was Francis Wu. And he was our brother.”
from the recollections of Michael-Johnson Cramer, Daniel Gallisa and Dino Wu.
Obituary
Francis Chi-tza Wu, born April 30, 1931, Shanghai, China, died December 13, 2002, Sudbury, Massachusetts, U.S.A. His parents were from Ningpo, China. His father was the legal scholar and Catholic theologian John C.H. Wu. In 1946, he moved to Rome with his family when his father became the Minister to the Holy See from China. After initially studying painting, in 1948 he entered the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and majored in piano, studying under Ornella Puliti Santoliquido. In 1955 he graduated with honors and left for the United States and studied philosophy at Seton Hall University. He was invited to perform in concerts across the United States. Between 1960 and 1965 he studied under Sascha Gorodnitzki of the Juilliard School of Music. In 1964 he married Kathleen Wong, a painter, and moved to Taiwan in 1965. He performed widely and became a piano professor at the Chinese Cultural University in Taiwan and after a few years became the Dean of the Department of Music. He was also a professor at the National Taiwan Academy of Arts in Pan-chiao, Taiwan. He was a prominent member of the musical and artistic community in Taiwan.
He served on the juries of several piano competitions as well as the Golden Horse Film Award and led multiple tours of prominent Chinese musicians abroad. Professor Wu lost his battle with cancer and died peacefully in his sleep in the early morning, surrounded by his wife and two children. The funeral was at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in South Orange, New Jersey, with interment following at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey, celebrated by Father Peter Wu, Maryknoll priest and brother of Professor Wu.