Born and raised in Hong Kong, Adrian Wong (b.1999) strives to create music that is engaging to perform and listen to, and he aims to create an emotional connection with his audience through imagery, drama, and unapologetic conviction. Adrian’s music takes inspiration from a wide array of subjects, ranging from the natural world, intersections of Chinese and Western culture, his identity as a Hongkonger, to the personal, day-to-day occurrences in life.

Adrian’s pieces have been performed or recorded by musicians and ensembles such as the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, h2 saxophone quartet, Hub New Music, the Rhythm Method, Cong Quartet, NOTUS Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, NOVA Ensemble, the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, oboists Katherine Needleman and Philippe Tondre, bassoonist Daniel Matsukawa, pianist Jihye Chang, bassoonist Ryan Goodwin, clarinetist Michelle Ho, and countertenor Sam Higgins, amongst others. His music has been performed at the RED NOTE New Music Festival, Lake George Music Festival, Brevard Music Center, Midwest Composers Symposium, Curtis Institute of Music, Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of North Texas, Bard College, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, Auditorium De Flaine, Hong Kong City Hall, Kwai Tsing Theatre, the Hong Kong Schools Music Festival, Radio Television Hong Kong, Ko Shan Theatre, Shaw Auditorium, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tokyo Daiichi Seimei Hall, Kobe Bunka Hall and other venues and concerts. Adrian has also been commissioned by the organizations such as NOĒMA, the Diocesan Choral Society, the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild, the Steven R. Gerber Trust for members of the Fifth House Ensemble, Lois Jecklin for Christ Church Georgetown, and the Aurora Winds.

Adrian is a winner of the 2022 RED NOTE New Music Festival Composition Competition in the choral category with Absalom, and he is also a 2021 American Prize in Composition in the shorter choral works category (student division) with 赤壁 – War of the Red Cliff. In Hong Kong, Adrian was selected to participate in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Composers Scheme with his orchestra piece Wail – 問天, and he also won first prize in the Hong Kong Composers’ Guild’s Hong Kong New Generation 2019 Composition Competition with his mahjong-inspired string quartet piece 石林雀語 – Tiled City, which was then subsequently performed by Cong Quartet in Hong Kong and around the US. Adrian is also a published artist—his SATB unaccompanied choral piece Home is currently under the Eugene Rogers Choral Series with G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard.

Adrian is currently pursuing an M.M. in music composition at the Curtis Institute of Music where he is the Milton L. Rock Composition Fellow, studying with Amy Beth Kirsten, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Nick DiBerardino, Richard Danielpour, and Steven Mackey. Adrian received a B.M. in music composition with Highest Honors at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, studying with Bright Sheng and Kristin Kuster. He had studied or had masterclasses with Alyssa Weinberg, Dan Visconti, David Dzubay, Jennifer Higdon, Jonathan Bailey Holland, Missy Mazzoli, and Robert Aldridge at the Intimacy of Creativity Festival, RED NOTE New Music Festival, Lake George Music Festival Composers Institute, the Fresh Inc Festival, and at the Brevard Music Center. Adrian also studied composition with Ng Wah-hei during secondary school. Adrian currently studies piano with Keiko Sato, having previously studied with Matthew Bengtson, and has studied conducting with Jonathan Coopersmith, Courtney Snyder, Adrian Slywotzky, Mark Stover, Julie Skadsem, and Felix Shuen. Adrian is currently a Teaching Artist at the George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science and also maintains a small studio of private students of all ages. To inquire about lessons, click here.