Jing Wang leads Hong Kong Philharmonic

Ahead of the launch of its 2013/14 season this Friday, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra has announced its new concertmaster, Jing Wang, a 28-year old Canadian-Chinese, to succeed incumbent concertmaster Igor Yuzefovich, whose 18-month contract will come to an end this summer.

Currently the concertmaster of the Dallas Opera, a position he took in 2010, Wang will lead Hong Kong's flagship orchestra for 32 weeks starting this September.

Though Wang has never played with the HK Phil, nor did he go through a worldwide recruitment or audition process, his appointment is deemed to be the most appropriate, not least by the man who handpicked him, the orchestra's music director Jaap van Zweden.

"I would like to thank Igor for all his good work with the HK Phil. Knowing Jing Wang's playing in Dallas, I know he will be the perfect fit for the HK Phil," says Van Zweden, concurrently musical chief of Dallas Symphony.

Born in Guilin, Guangxi province, Wang moved to Quebec with his family at a young age, according to the orchestra. He started playing the violin at three years old and made his first public appearance aged six in Marseilles, France, and his concerto debut aged nine with the Quebec Symphony Orchestra.

A frequent prize-winner, including first prize at the Irving M. Klein International String Competition in 2007, Wang, like Van Zweden, attended the prestigious Juilliard School in New York.