Wong Kah Chun composer

Singapore conductor Kah Chun Wong is quickly becoming recognized for his facility on the podium and his energy and passion for new music. Recently named the 2nd Prizewinner of the 5th International Lovro von Matacic Competition for Conductors in 2011, Kah Chun is the Artistic Director of the Asian Contemporary Ensemble and holds a conducting assistantship with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra for both 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 seasons, where he is mentored by Music Director Tsung Yeh.

As a composer, Wong’s works for wind orchestra are published by Tierolffmuzieke Centrale (the Netherlands), and regularly performed by bands worldwide, such as the Royal Belgian Marines Band, the German Youth Wind Orchestra, the Peabody Wind Ensemble, and the Singapore Wind Symphony. In 2009 and 2010, he was commissioned by the CMF International Concours (France) and the 9th International Band Contest in Italy to write set

pieces for the Superior Divisions, and as part of Philharmonic Winds’ 10th Anniversary, “Krakatoa” was composed, which was subsequently selected on tour to the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conference in Taiwan. “Krakatoa” became the first-ever wind orchestra work to successfully be transcribed for Chinese Orchestra, performed by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and the Taipei Chinese Orchestra in sold-out concerts. In 2012, the Hageland Wind Orchestra of Belgium made the first recording of “Vox Stellarum Symphony”, a multi-movement work that was first composed when Wong was 17. Wong sometimes does arrangement under the name of Jun’ichi Tanaka, particularly for local folk songs and pops music.

Wong graduated from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore, and completed his Master of Music in conducting at the Hanns-Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin in a concert with the Berliner Konzerthausorchester in January 2014. He has also participated in masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, Heinz Holliger, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Simonov and Jorma Panula.