Birthplace: Newton, US | Studied in: New Haven and New York City, US; Berlin, Germany | Resides in: New York City, US
With virtuosity and “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) at the service of “pure poetry” (Seen and Heard International), pianist Derek Wang is drawing increasing acclaim in the roles of soloist, collaborator, curator, and communicator.
Derek first came to international attention with his performances of Liszt, receiving awards at the 12th Liszt Utrecht Competition in 2022 (Second Prize) and at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021 (First Prize). A proponent of the music of our time, Derek held a three-summer-long position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival. He is presently Creative Enterprise Fellow at Juilliard, where he curates a range of interdisciplinary programs and shares artistic direction of Juilliard Station, a new street-facing performance space.
Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Sir Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover, Germany in the studio of Arie Vardi.