Second Associate Concertmaster
Beijing-born Wong Sze-hang is an accomplished soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, concertmaster and teacher. He has performed extensively around the world including in major cities in China, the United States, Europe and Japan. Wong is also a Founder and Board Director of the Central Conservatory of Music of China Hong Kong Foundation.
An experienced concertmaster, Wong has led orchestras in the US under the batons of Daniel Lewis and Mehli Mehta. He has been Second Associate Concertmaster of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra since he joined in 1989, and was once its Acting Concertmaster. His is also an active guest concertmaster for orchestras in the region, including Shanghai Opera House, Guangzhou Symphony, Macao Orchestra and Shenzhen Symphony.
As a soloist, Wong has performed concertos with, among others, the Shanghai Broadcasting Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony of the UK, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, Guangzhou Symphony of China, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Soloists, University of Southern California Orchestra, and Union Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Hong Kong. He has given a recital of the complete Brahms sonatas, was a guest performer at the Mozart Bicentenary Piano Competition of Asia, and has been featured on several local radio and television music programmes as well as television commercials.
Dedicated to chamber music, Wong was a member of the Sulium String Quartet which performed extensively in the US and at the Berlin Anniversary Festival in Germany. In 1993, he founded the Hong Kong String Quartet which actively promotes the appreciation of string quartet and chamber music through recordings, radio broadcasts, activities for schools and hospitals, and workshops for youth. It also commissions works by Hong Kong composers, and has presented world premieres at music festivals, including at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the Musicarama new music festival, and the Tribute to the New Millennium Festival. The group has been Resident Quartet of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Radio Television Hong Kong, and the Tsuen Wan Town Hall. High critical acclaim has been won by the quartet not only for its performances in Hong Kong but also in Beijing and at the Shanghai International Arts Festival.
A renowned violin teacher, Wong taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Baptist University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. He has mentored many professional and amateur violinists. He regularly gives masterclasses at various educational institutions, and has led many string workshops and summer music camps. He was adjudicator for various local and international music competitions, including the Lions Club’s Global Youth Music Competition, and the Millennium Violin and Piano Competition co-organized by the Hong Kong Music Society and the Music Office.
Wong's own teachers include Liu Yi-ying, Professor Wang Zhang-shen of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and Thomas Wang of the Hong Kong Conservatory of Music. On full scholarship, he studied under Professor Eduard Schmieder at Rice University in Houston, and at the University of Southern California from which he graduated with high distinction. Wong has gained many awards, including the Conducting Departmental Award from the University of Southern California, and the San Antonio String Club Award. Wong was overall champion at the Hong Kong Young Instrumentalist of the Year Competition, and was accoladed “Best Instrumentalist of the Year”.
