Wong Kah Chun

Wong Kah Chun (Chinese: 黃佳俊; pinyin: Huáng Jiājùn; born 24 June 1986), also known as Kahchun Wong, is a Singaporean conductor.[1][2] Wong was the first Asian to win the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition for young conductors on 12 May 2016. He became the chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra in Germany in September 2018.[3][4][5]

Wong Kah Chun
Born (1986-06-24) 24 June 1986
Singapore
Occupation(s)Conductor  • Composer
Years active2015–present

Personal life

Wong was born in 1986 to Victor Wong, a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) warrant officer, and Yeo Huay Lan, a childcare teacher. His family lived in a five-room HDB flat in the Jurong West neighborhood of Singapore.[5][6]

He performed with the SAF military band during his national service and suffered a nerve injury to his lips from over-playing the trumpet. While he was recovering, he started composing and formed a group to perform his compositions. At this point he started considering becoming a professional conductor.[7] In 2011, he began studying opera and orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, Germany, after receiving the Lee Kuan Yew scholarship. He earned his master's degree in 2014.[8][9]

Career

Wong debuted in March 2015 with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and has since led orchestras in more than twenty cities on four continents, including the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, the St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra.[10][9][5]

In 2016, he became the first Asian to win the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition for young conductors, held in Bamberg, Germany.[3] In June 2016, he debuted in China, conducting for the China Philharmonic Orchestra, Beiijing, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra.[11]

He was a finalist for the 2017 Singapore Youth Award of the National Youth Council.[12] In August 2018 he was one of ten Singaporeans mentioned in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech.[13][6] He conducted the New York Philharmonic's annual Lunar New Year concert in February 2019,[14] and in December of that year, the Federal President of Germany awarded him the Order of Merit for his achievements in Singaporean-German cultural relations and the advancement of German music culture abroad.[15]

Other work

In 2010, he was part of a group that formed the Asian Contemporary Ensemble, which focuses on Singaporean and Asian composers.[5]

He co-founded Project Infinitude with Marina Mahler, the granddaughter of Gustav Mahler, in 2016 as part of a global music education initiative by the Mahler Foundation.[16]

Awards

References
  1. "Artist Profile: Wong Kah Chun". Ang Mo Kio Secondary School. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  2. "NUS Arts Festival 2015 - Wong Kah Chun". National University of Singapore. 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  3. Raguraman, Anjali (13 May 2016). "Singaporean Wong Kah Chun wins Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  4. Ho, Olivia (21 January 2017). "Singaporean Wong Kah Chun named chief conductor of Nuremberg orchestra". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  5. Tan, Sumiko (23 April 2017). "Lunch With Sumiko: The world is conductor Wong Kah Chun's stage". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  6. Derek Wong, Tee Zhuo, Seow Bei Yi (7 June 2016). "Singapore Pursuing their dreams, flying the flag high". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  7. "Meet the Maestro: Kah Chun Wong". rhinegold.co.uk. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  8. "Profile: Kah Chun Wong". The A List Singapore. 30 August 2016. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  9. "At 29, Wong Kah Chun has conducted orchestras on four continents". The Straits Times. 30 March 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  10. "Up Close with Kahchun Wong". thebandpost.com. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  11. Lee, Min Kok (7 June 2016). "Singapore conductor to debut in China". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  12. "Global stage, local heart". The Straits Times. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  13. Derek Wong, Tee Zhuo, Seow Bei Yi (20 August 2018). "National Day Rally 2018: 10 Singaporeans who got special mention in PM Lee Hsien Loong's speech". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 August 2018.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  14. Nanda, Akshita (25 July 2018). "Wong Kah Chun to conduct New York Philharmonic's Lunar New Year concert". The Straits Times. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  15. Website German Embassy Singapore https://singapur.diplo.de/sg-en/aktuelles/-/2287116
  16. Said, Nabilah (6 December 2016). "Making music fun and accessible for children". The Straits Times. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  17. Website of the German Embassy Singapore https://singapur.diplo.de/sg-en/aktuelles/-/2287116
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