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Accomplished cellist with wonderful musical talent and commendable artistry.
- Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, world-renowned cellist, President of the Suntory Hall and former President of Toho School of Music

Hailed by the press for his “remarkable technical skills,” “hall-filling tone,” “moments of magic” and “expressive poetry with great intensity,” cellist Alvin Wong performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia in celebrated venues such as Carnegie Hall, Seoul Arts Center, and Hong Kong Cultural Centre. He has collaborated with eminent musicians such as Philippe Entremont, Charles Castleman, Ani Kavafian and Jian Wang, among others.

An advocate in music by living composers, Alvin premiered concertos and cello works by Chinese, Australian and American composers, including Grammy, Pulitzer and McArthur prize winners such as Aaron Jay Kernis, Bright Sheng, Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Narong Prangchareon and Augusta Read Thomas, among others. He has recorded an album featuring solo cello works by Chinese composers, and chamber works by Mara Gibson, Claude Baker and Ingram Marshall. He appears regularly in new music and chamber music festivals as a featured artist in Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States.

An avid chamber musician, Alvin was the founding member of the award-winning Noble Piano Trio in the U.S. He has also co-founded the faculty resident Ormond String Quartet at the University of Melbourne in Australia, and released an album featuring chamber music works by prominent Australian composers. As an orchestral musician, he served as the principal cellist of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and has performed with numerous orchestras as guest in Germany, Australia and the United States.

A sought-after teacher and pedagogue, Alvin currently serves on the cello faculty of the Hannover University of Music, Theatre and Media in Germany. Previously he was a full-time lecturer at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (Australia). He also taught at Connecticut College (USA). Additionally, Alvin gives regular masterclasses across Asia, Australasia, Europe, and the United States. His comprehensive pedagogical approach has helped students to win competitions as well as teaching and orchestral positions in Australia, Asia, Europe and the United States.

Born in Hong Kong, Alvin’s talent was first recognised by winning the “Student Musician of The Year 1999” from South China Morning Post. After further studies in the United States on full scholarships, Alvin holds music degrees from Eastman School of Music, Indiana University and Yale University, where he received the Doctor of Musical Arts and Artist Diploma. His major teachers include legendary cellists and pedagogues János Starker and Aldo Parisot.

In 2015, Alvin founded and directed the inaugural Melbourne Cello Festival to “a huge success…buzzing with excitement from day one. Well run and inspiring!” reported by Stringendo, the national Australian strings magazine. The festival returned to great acclaim in 2017.

Alvin plays on a 2003 William Whedbee cello from Chicago and a 2019 Sam Zygmuntowicz cello from Brooklyn, New York.

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A stellar cellist with sophisticated playing.

The cellist, Alvin Wong, shows complete control over the instrument, making it sound almost alive, transcending the cello’s natural classical roots into an ultra-contemporary and ultra-avant-garde, though inertly human, sound.

Amazing and sublime playing… I remember with such profound joy, and with emotion.

And in this slow movement, the moments of magic were found... Wong opened the Andante [of Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2] with a soothing richness in its serene theme, which sang in his cello until [Peter] Frankl entered…

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