Wilson Ng, Conductor

Internationally sought-after conductor Wilson Ng is making waves around the world as a trailblazer in a new generation of classical music. Lauded for his exceptional technique and musical imagination, he is currently the Associate Conductor of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, appointed at the age of 28 as the youngest conductor in the orchestra’s history. He has swept coveted prizes at globally renowned competitions, such as the Mahler Competition in Bamberg, the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition in Frankfurt, and the Svetlanov International Conducting Competition in Paris. Wilson is also the Artistic Director of the Gustav Mahler Orchestra Hong Kong.

Following his performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No.1 at his subscripion concert début with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), Wilson was praised by Yonhap News “as if he had become Shostakovich himself”. He was immediately engaged by SPO to conduct at subsequent high-profile events, including the Seoul Arts Center Orchestra Festival’s opening concerts in 2019 and 2020. A true embodiment of musical leadership and innovation, Wilson led SPO’s first live-streamed online concerts and executed a series of groundbreaking virtual reality experience recordings during the COVID-19 pandemic. His widespread success in the nation has led him to conduct other major Korean orchestras, such as Korean Symphony Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, and KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Symphony Orchestra.

Wilson made his subscrition concerts début and conducted 2 programmes with Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in March-April 2021, within half a year Wilson was called back to replace it’s Music Director Jaap van Zweden conducting 3 concerts. He is scheduled to conduct another subscrition concert in January 2022, and will lead the orchestra again for a concert at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in March 2022.

Wilson’s colorful interpretations and influential reputation continue to propel him onto stages worldwide. He has worked with many leading European orchestras, including Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. His Junge Deutsche Philharmonie début performance at the Alte Oper Frankfurt New Year’s concert, with Scriabin’s Poème de l'extase on the program, was critically acclaimed by the Frankfurter Rundschau, which headlined his concert as “The Pinnacle of Ecstasy”.

Wilson began his musical journey at the age of 11 learning the flute, which first led him to Paris and Lausanne. He performed as a guest solo flutist with the Lyon National Opera Ballet prior to specialising in conducting, and advanced his conducting studies at the Universität der Künste Berlin and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Wilson was handpicked for the conducting academies at the Pacific Music Festival and Aspen Music Festival, where he was awarded the James Conlon Conductor Prize.