Jerry Wong

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, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Shriver Hall in Baltimore and Weill Recital Hall in New York City. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prix-Ville de Fontainebleau in France, which was personally presented to him by Philippe Entremont, the IBLA Grand Prize in Italy, and the Akron Area Arts Alliance “Outstanding Artist in Music”.

In 2010, Mr. Wong released his debut CD on the MSR Classics label. International praise for this all-Prokofiev disc included: “rich-toned… an acute ear for color… exciting playing” (Fanfare); “brings [introspection and gentle nostalgia to this music] better than anyone I have heard to assay the Eighth (Sonata) since the late Emil Gilels” (Audio Society); “no trouble at all with the technical demands…a thorough and thoughtful musicality that might not necessarily be associated with such youthful music” (allmusic.com); “instinctive poeticism….sonorous velvety charm” (BBC Music Magazine); and “his approach is perfect for the 20 short and quite varied Visions Fugitives, easily the best complete set I’ve heard” (American Record Guide).

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. 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, where he has been featured in performance with violinist Soovin Kim, the Miami String Quartet and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Frequently sought after as adjudicator, clinician and lecturer, his masterclasses have brought him to such noted institutions as Cleveland Institute of Music, Indiana University, Northwestern University, St. Petersburg Conservatory (Russia), Tainan National University of Arts (Taiwan), University of Michigan and Yong Sieh Tow Conservatory (Singapore). He has presented lecture recitals about 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. His publications have frequently appeared in Clavier Companion.

Mr. Wong is a Steinway Artist.

Future activity:

Presentation for Ohio Music Teachers Association, Summit County

Kent State University

February 1, 2013

Solo appearance for Tuesday Musical Association

Akron Women's City Club, OH

February 12, 2013

Solo appearance for MacDowell Club

Cable Recital Hall, Canton Cultural Center for the Arts, OH

February 22, 2013

Adjudication, Columbus Music Teachers Achievement Award Competition

Graves Piano, Columbus, OH

February 23, 2013

Guest clinician: includes solo appearance, master classes and adjudication

Cameron University Piano Festival and Competition, Lawton, OK

March 1 and 2, 2013

Adjudication, Ribbonfest

Studio of Nancy Bachus, OH

March 15, 2013

Adjudication, Ohio Music Teachers Association, Summer scholarship auditions

Columbus, OH

March 23, 2013

Adjudication, Ohio Music Teachers Association, Buckeye Auditions

Cleveland, OH

April 13, 2013

Adjudication, Ohio Music Teachers Association, Buckeye Auditions

Kent, OH

April 27, 2013

Solo recital, Crocker Art Museum

Sacramento, CA

May 12, 2013

Solo recital, Wagner Society of Canton

Malone College

Canton, OH

June 15, 2013

Lecture recital, West Virginia University Piano Festival

Morgantown, WV

June 24-28, 2013

Kent/Blossom Music, faculty

Kent State University

June 23 - July 27, 2013

Adjudication, International Institute for Young Musicians

University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

July 6 - 8, 2013

Piano Institute at Kent State, co-director/faculty

Kent State University

July 14-24, 2013

Southern Young Artists Piano Project, faculty

Changhua City, Taiwan

July 24 – August 11, 2013