Ray Wong

Dr. Raymond (Ray) Wong is a pianist based in Manhattan, New York. He has been featured in International Pianists Magazine, The New York Times, The LA Times, The New Yorker Magazine, The Boston Globe, The Philly Inquirer, The Herald Tribune, Allegro Magazine, WQXR New York Classical Radio, NPR National Public Radio, The National Classical Music Radio of the Czech Republic, The Georgia Straight, CBC Canadian National Radio and Television, among others.

Recent performances include “WICKED in Concert”, and “One Voice” on PBS Television, The Ruth Bader Ginsberg Honors at The Library of Congress, fashion designer Josie Natori’s Fall/Winter20 Runway for New York Fashion Week, Arts Connection Gala, Musical Explorers at Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, solo, chamber, and collaborative performances in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, The Kimmel Center and The Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, Zankel Hall, and Isaac Stern Auditorium, The Van Cliburn Recital Hall in Bass Performance Hall, and performances with The American Pops Orchestra under the direction of maestro Luke Frazier, The Juilliard Orchestra under the batons of maestro Leonard Slatkin, Alan Gilbert, Jeffrey Milarsky, and Marin Alsop. He has had the privilege of working with many of his music idols such as Itzhak Perlman, Glenn Dicterow, Robert McDonald, The Juilliard String Quartet, and has played in masterclasses with numerous pedagogues including Jeremy Denk, Ivan Moravec, Christoph Eschenbach, Ann Schein, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Leslie Howard, Philippe Entremont, Jean-Yves Thibaudet among others.

As a soloist, Mr. Wong has been a laureate of The New York Concert Artists International Concerto Competition, New York Sinfionetta International Concerto Competition, The Bradshaw & Buono International Competition, Bechstein Piano Competition, the Mieczyslaw Munz Chopin Piano Competition, Festival of the Arts Canadian Music Competition, The Prague International Piano Festival Competition, Artists International Auditions and The Seattle International Piano Competition.

Dr. Wong has adjudicated on the jury of The Seattle International Piano Competition, The Pacific International Youth Society, and the Music Educators Association of New Jersey Piano Competitions. He is recipient of Steinway & Sons’s Outstanding Teacher Award, and has been a guest lecturer at The University of Southern California (USC), an official collaborative pianist of The Walter W Naumburg International Competition, and is currently the rehearsal pianist for The Orchestra of St. Luke's, and pianist for Musical Explorers, and The Orchestra Moves, as a part of Carnegie Hall’s Education Program, Link Up!

Raymond was an original member of The First National Tour of the Broadway musical, An American in Paris as a featured pianist performing the piano concertos of George Gershwin. Venues included Walt Disney Hall in Orlando, The Fox Theatre in Saint Louis, The Academy of Music in Philadelphia, The Kennedy Center in Washington, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and The Pantages Theaters in Los Angeles, among others. The current season includes The Lyric & Lyricists Series at The 92Y, Carnegie Hall Family Concert Series, Peter and the Wolf with John Lithgow, and the Carnegie Hall Gala performance of Candide under the baton of Rob Fisher. He has had the honor of performing solo recitals for Queen Sofia of Spain, former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and the late President George HW Bush, and the late First Lady, Barbara Bush.

Dr. Wong received his degrees in Solo Piano Performance and Collaborative Piano from The Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School in New York, and an Education degree from Harvard University. Raymond's Doctoral dissertation, "The Celestial Circus" is based on a work composed for him and pianist Xiayin Wang by composer Richard Danielpour. Its world premiere was given by Wang/Wong at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, in March of 2014.