“Symphony of Southeast Texas violinist Yu Zhao Gu, 60, died of a heart attack that struck during the symphony’s Saturday evening performance while sitting beside his wife and stand partner, Ying Zhao, at the Julie Rogers Theatre in Beaumont,” writes R.A. Schuetz in Monday’s (4/8) Beaumont Enterprise (TX). “After Gu fell from his seat in the final concert of the season, members of the audience rushed to his aid…. A cardiologist in the orchestra and doctors from the audience attempted to resuscitate Gu until paramedics arrived…. The couple, both of whom are from China, joined the Symphony of Southeast Texas in the mid-’90s and lived in Houston…. After Gu was taken to the hospital, James Fuller, the reverend of a local Baptist church and a board member of the symphony, prayed with grieving musicians.… Members of the symphony on Sunday launched a GoFundMe to help Zhao with Gu’s medical and funeral costs. Yu and Ying have been playing with the symphony for well over a decade and as regular members of the Galveston, Corpus Christi, Lake Charles, and Victoria symphonies…. [Concertmaster Matthew] Detrick said he hoped to continue Gu’s legacy through music…. He is survived by his wife and their son, a University of Houston student.”
Posted April 9, 2019
