Lydia Wong

Lydia Wong

Area Head, Piano

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Piano

Piano

Education

  • CRD, Guildhall School of Music & Drama
  • BMus, University of Toronto

Biography

One of Canada’s most sought after collaborative pianists, acclaimed for her ‘vivacious playing’ (Daily Telegraph) and ‘sparkling clarity’ (The Strad) Lydia Wong appears regularly with the world’s pre-eminent performers in venues across the globe from Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City to London’s Wigmore Hall.

Following her successful Banff Centre collaboration with Krzystof Penderecki on the North American premiere of his Sextet, Ms. Wong has enjoyed a particular association with the composer. She was invited to perform the Sextet and other works at the Festival Casals in Puerto Rico and at the “Making Music” series in New York City by Carnegie Hall. In 2003, with violinist Erika Raum, she gave the North American premiere of Penderecki’s Violin Sonata No.2 in Toronto; she also performed at Maestro Penderecki’s 70th birthday celebration in Warsaw, Poland and served as a member of the jury for the Seventh Annual International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition in Krakow, Poland.

Active in New Music, Ms. Wong has appeared as soloist and was a regular member with the Esprit Orchestra. She can be heard on CentreDiscs, Naxos, Marquis Classics, Phoenix Records and has performed for networks in North America, Africa and Europe besides broadcasting regularly for the CBC. Her CD, American Flute Masterpieces with flutist Susan Hoeppner was nominated for a 2012 Juno Award.

A graduate of the University of Toronto and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Ms. Wong was artistic co-ordinator of the summer Collaborative Piano Internship program at the Banff Centre from 2008-2016 where she had been on faculty since 1993 and has been on faculty at the University of Toronto since 2000. She was appointed Head of the Piano Department in 2016 and was recipient of the Faculty of Music Teaching Award in 2018.