Internationally acclaimed for his electrifying stage presence and his thoughtful exploration of Eastern and Western artistic legacies, Singaporean-born Kahchun Wong is the Chief Conductor of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and the Principal Guest Conductor of Dresdner Philharmonie. In the fall of 2024, he succeeded Sir Mark Elder as the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Hallé in Manchester.
In his final appearance as Chief Conductor of Nürnberger Symphoniker, Wong led the successful world premiere of his orchestration of Mussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition" to an audience of 75,000 at the annual Klassik Open Air in Luitpoldhain. This sinfonia concertante version for folk instrumental soloists from Singapore Chinese Orchestra was also widely broadcast on 3SAT and BR-Klassik.
Since winning the Mahler Competition in 2016, Wong has guest-conducted renowned orchestras such as New York Philharmonic, The Cleveland, Detroit Symphony, Seattle Symphony, London Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Czech Philharmonic orchestras, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, as well as Hong Kong Philharmonic, Shanghai Symphony, Osaka Philharmonic, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony orchestras. Highlights of 2024/25 include the release of Britten’s "The Prince of the Pagodas" on the Hallé label, leading Japan Philharmonic Orchestra’s 50th anniversary tour of Kyushu, a recording project with Dresdner Philharmonie featuring Olivier Latry, titular organist of Notre-Dame Cathedral, his debuts with Düsseldorfer Symphoniker and China National Symphony Orchestra, as well as returning to The Cleveland Orchestra and Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Wong has forged robust relationships with many contemporary composers. He has led the US premiere of Tan Dun’s "Fire Ritual" with New York Philharmonic, the UK premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s "Prayer" with BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican and the world premiere of Reena Esmail’s Concerto for Hindustani Violin written for the renowned guru Kala Ramnath with Seattle Symphony Orchestra. His Suntory Hall subscriptions with Japan Philharmonic Orchestra regularly includes works by composers such as Akira Ifukube, Yasushi Akutagawa, Kiyoshige Koyama and Yuzo Toyama. At the invitation of the Tokyo Opera City Foundation, he has led a highly successful performance of Toru Takemitsu’s ambitious orchestral cycle "Arc", which was selected as one of the top contemporary concerts of 2022 by major Japanese critics. With Dresdner Philharmonie, he has commissioned "Reflection of Shadow" by Thai composer Narong Prangcharoen and will be leading Anna Clyne's Clarinet Concerto with Martin Fröst. His first season with the Hallé will also include James McMillan's percussion concerto with Colin Currie and Unsuk Chin's "Su", a concerto for sheng with Wu Wei.
Wong has enjoyed strong collaborations with soloists such as Nelson Freire, Thomas Hampson, Barbara Hannigan, Gerhard Oppitz, Christian Tetzlaff, Patricia Kopatchinskaya, Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Lozakovich, Mao Fujita, Sergei Nakariakov, and Vilde Frang.
In December 2019, Wong became the first artist from Singapore to be conferred the Order of Merit by the Federal President of Germany for his dedicated service and outstanding achievements in Singaporean-German cultural relations and the advancement of German musical culture abroad.