Overview
Biography
Praised by Musical America for the “depth and sincerity of his musicality”, the Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong first came to international attention as the winner of the 5th Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016, following in the footsteps of Gustavo Dudamel, who immediately invited him to the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a Conducting Fellow for the 2016/2017 season.
As the new Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Wong has led a 5-concert tour of China in December 2017, and will be making his debut at Klassik Open Air, Europe's largest outdoor classical music festival, in August 2018.
Welcomed in Japan, he will make a string of subscription debuts in 2018 with the Tokyo Symphony, Osaka Symphony, Hiroshima Symphony, Kyushu Symphony and Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, having just recently appeared with the Kanagawa Philharmonic, Kansai Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic and Tokyo Philharmonic.
For his debut with the National Symphony of Taiwan in November 2017, Wong conducted Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 and Des Knaben Wunderhorn with baritone Thomas Hampson.
A protégé of the late Kurt Masur, Wong had the privilege of sharing the podium with him on multiple occasions in his final years. He has also assisted Valery Gergiev and Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Philharmonia Orchestra, Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Ivan Fischer at the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
Wong's impressive list of guest appearances in recent and upcoming seasons includes debuts with Bamberg Symphony, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbruecken Kaiserslautern, George Enescu Philharmonic, Hamburger Symphoniker, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxeumbourg, Orchestre Capitole du Toulouse, Orquesta de València, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Staatsphilharmonie Rhineland-Pfalz, Staatskapelle Weimar, Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste and Tonkuenstler Orchestra.
He has been invited by the New York Philharmonic to lead its Lunar New Year Gala in February 2019, being only the second conductor in this annual tradition after the eminent Chinese conductor Long Yu.
Wong’s career has also thrived closer to home in numerous appearances with leading Asian orchestras. In June 2016, he stepped in at short notice for the indisposed Jesus Lopez-Cobos for three consecutive subscription debuts with the China Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony and Guangzhou Symphony, and has since forged a close relationship with them, alongside the Hangzhou Philharmonic, Kunming Symphony and Shenzhen Symphony as a guest conductor.
Wong believes in the power of education to inspire and uplift, mirroring his own journey as a musician from a young Southeast Asian country. Together with Marina Mahler, the granddaughter of Gustav Mahler, they have co-founded Project Infinitude, a grassroots initiative that introduces classical music into the lives of children from diverse backgrounds. In 2018, he has embarked on a year-long intensive partnership with the non-profit agency Child at Street 11, working with children between the ages of 2 months to 7 years old. Having personally witnessed the tangible successes of Ivan Fischer's Cocoa Concerts in Budapest and New York, Wong has adapted this sensory-friendly and inclusive series to the suburbs of Singapore with a local flavour - the Red Bean Concerts, where children and their families get a bowl of heartwarming red bean soup after a performance by leading musicians from top cultural institutions.
