About this Artist

The Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong is one of the most exciting and innovative musicians of his generation. He first came to international attention as the winner of the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition in 2016. He is the Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra since the 2018/2019 season.

Wong has conducted some of the most distinguished international orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Orchestre Nationale d'ile de France. His upcoming orchestra engagements include debuts with Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Hallé Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic, Sendai Philharmonic and National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) Orchestra in Beijing, as well as re-invitations to the Bamberg Symphony, Staatskapelle Weimar, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Kanagawa Philharmonic, Kyushu Symphony and Singapore Symphony.

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 encourages children to explore and enjoy music. In 2019, together with BR-Klassik and Stadtsparkasse Nürnberg, he conceptualised and led PACHELBEL.VIER.NULL, a collaborative digital project which raised donations for Sternstunden e.V., a non-profit association for children in Germany. During the pandemic in 2020, he convened more than 1000 international musicians in a digital sing-along of Beethoven's Ode to Joy for ChildAid, an annual charity event in Singapore that raised close to 2 million dollars for the Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and the Business Times Budding Artists Fund.

Wong was conferred the Order of Merit by the Federal President of Germany on 10 December 2019 for his dedicated service and outstanding achievements in Singaporean-German cultural relations and the advancement of German music culture abroad. Wong is the youngest and also the first artist from Singapore to have received this prestigious award.