Jerry Wong Bio - 2012 Piano Institute at Kent State University

Described by Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Martin Bernheimer as "eloquent and elegant…(with) passion and introspection…sensitivity and a finely honed sense of style" and praised by the Orange County Register for "clean technique, forthright sound and a straight forward approach to classical textures", pianist Jerry Wong has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Asia in such prestigious settings as the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, National Concert Hall of Taipei, National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., Opera City Hall in Tokyo, PianoForte in Chicago, Shriver Hall in Baltimore and Weill Recital Hall in New York City. His performances and interviews have been featured on HCTV, KHSU, WCLV, WKSU, Finnish National Radio, Living & Travel Section of msnbc.com, Nippon Television and Radio Video Mediterranean. Recent solo recitals have brought him to the campuses of Ball State University, Bowling Green State University, Brigham Young University, Chapman University, Indiana University, National University of Singapore, Syracuse University, Tung Hai University and Tainan National University of Arts in Taiwan.

An avid chamber musician and collaborative pianist, he has toured extensively with trumpeter Joe Burgstaller (formerly with Canadian Brass), performed an all-Schubert recital with violinist Werner Hink (concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic) at the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and appeared with the flute duo ZAWA! at the Ithaca Flute Institute. He performs regularly at Kent/Blossom Music, where he has been featured with violinist Soovin Kim, the Miami String Quartet and members of The Cleveland Orchestra.

A graduate of Indiana University, Peabody Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music, where he completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, Mr. Wong's major teachers have included Menahem Pressler, Ann Schein, Sara Davis Buechner and Byron Janis.  Frequently sought after as adjudicator, clinician and lecturer, his masterclasses have brought him to such noted institutions as Cleveland Institute of Music, Northwestern University and University of Michigan. During the 2007-2008 season, he presented lecture recitals on the music of Seymour Bernstein to the Music Teachers National Association state conferences of Indiana, Ohio and New York as well as the Music Teachers Association of California.

Mr. Wong presently holds the position of Associate Professor of Piano at Kent State University in Ohio. During the summers, he is co-director of the Piano Institute at Kent State and a member of the Kent/Blossom Music faculty. In 2009, the Akron Arts Alliance awarded him Outstanding Artist in Music for his frequent performances in northeast Ohio, as well as his work as an educator and advocate of the performing arts.

Professor  Wong is a Steinway Artist.