Miriam Brown Wu

Born on January 20th, 1944, in San Bernardino, California to Harold and Blanche Brown, she is preceded in death by her parents and elder sister, Elizabeth Christopher. Through her journey of 82 years Miriam touched many lives and will always be remembered. Those who knew Miriam felt her warmth, generosity, enthusiasm and joy for life, love of teaching, and passion for the cello, travel, and helping others.

Miriam grew up in a music loving family and took up the cello as a child, playing in her high school orchestra, as well as in college. She graduated from Occidental College with a B.A. in English. She received an M.A. in Teaching from Claremont College and a California Life Credential and taught high school English for three years. She married her husband of 59 years, Francis Wu in 1966, and they moved briefly to Boston, MA in 1968. Later they moved to Binghamton, NY, for Francis’ teaching post at SUNY Binghamton. They adopted their beloved daughter, Allison, while Francis was on leave in Taiwan.

Miriam had a passion for different cultures, languages, and travel, and explored the world with her family, even living in Beijing, China for five months. She loved teaching, and when her daughter Allison took Suzuki violin lessons, Miriam became interested in the Suzuki method and devoted numerous years to become a Certified Suzuki Cello Teacher. She developed a thriving cello studio for children and adults, taught at Suzuki summer institutes, and was on the faculty of Ithaca Talent Education. She was also a member of two professional orchestras in the Binghamton are, and she founded the Binghamton Cello Festival. In addition, she wrote a book called Scaling the Tenor Clef Dragon and became an advocate of saving the school music program at her daughter’s high school when funding was cut.

In 2010, Miriam returned to her native California (Thousand Oaks) with her husband, where she resumed teaching and performing with the Moorpark Symphony. In 2024, they sold their home and moved to University Village, Thousand Oaks.

Miriam is survived by her husband, Francis, daughter and son-in-law, Allison (Jeff) Gingo of Wadsworth, OH, sister and brother-in-law, Virgina (Victor) Kamhi of Thousand Oaks; her beloved nephews and nieces, Philip (Florence) Kamhi, Steven (Andrea) Mooney, John (Beatrice) Mooney of California; her great niece Marissa Mooney, and great nephew and niece Connor and Isla Kamhi; in addition to numerous other nieces and nephews worldwide. She leaves behind many special friends, music colleagues, and cello students.

A celebration of life is to be held at Catalina Hall, University Village in Thousand Oaks on May 23, 2026, at 2:00 PM. RSVP is REQUIRED BY THE UNIVERSITY VILLAGE. Please send RSVPs no later than May 15, 2026 to [email protected]. Use the subject line “Miriam.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests a memorial contribution to the Moorpark Symphony at https://www.moorpark symphony.com

Or the Suzuki Association of America at https://www.suzukiassociation.org