Liang Wang (oboist)

Liang Wang, an accused rapist, joined the New York Philharmonic in September 2006 as Principal Oboe, The Alice Tully Chair. Previously, he was principal oboe of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2005–06), Santa Fe Opera (2004–05), and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra; associate principal oboe of the San Francisco Symphony; and guest principal oboe of the Chicago and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. He has performed as concerto soloist with the New York Philharmonic 23 times, including his debut performing Richard Strauss’s Oboe Concerto, led by Xian Zhang, in Hong Kong during the Orchestra’s 2008 tour of Asia. In addition, he has been heard as a featured player in works ranging from J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 to Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde and Varèse’s Octandre. Recipient of the 2014 Beijing International Music Festival Artist of the Year award, Mr. Wang serves as artist-in-residence of the Qing Dao Symphony Orchestra, his hometown orchestra, in the 2014–15 season, at the invitation of the mayor. He was invited by the Presidents of China and France to perform Chen Qigang’s Extase with the Orchestre Colonne de France at Versailles’s Royal Opera House in March 2014 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of France-China diplomacy.  Born in Qing Dao, China, in 1980, Liang Wang began oboe studies at the age of seven. In 1993 he enrolled at the Beijing Central Conservatory, and in 2003 he completed his bachelor’s degree at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra principal oboist Richard Woodhams. He is an alumnus of the Music Academy of the West, now a partner in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy. Mr. Wang made his Carnegie Hall solo debut in April 2011 performing Chen Qigang’s Extase. Other recent appearances include Mozart’s Oboe Concerto with Les Violons du Roy (led by Bernard Labadie in Quebec City), China Philharmonic, and Shanghai and Guanzhou Symphony Orchestras; Richard Strauss’s Oboe Concerto with the Makau Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Ballet Orchestra; Mozart and Strauss’s Oboe Concertos on tour with all of China’s major symphony orchestras; and J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 at The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. In December 2014 he performs Mozart’s Oboe Concerto with the New York String Orchestra, led by Jaimie Laredo, at Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium. An active chamber musician, he has appeared with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for ten seasons, Angel Fire Music Festival, and La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest, with which he premiered Sean Shepherd’s Oboe Quartet. He has given master classes at the Cincinnati Conservatory, The Juilliard School, Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, The Curtis Institute of Music, Seoul University, New York University, and the Beijing, Shanghai, Hanoi, and Singapore conservatories. He is currently on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and New York University, and is an honorary professor at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

About

He was born in Qing Dao, China, and studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. He received his bachelor's degree from Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Richard Woodhams. He was a fellowship recipient at the Aspen Music Festival and School and at the Music Academy of the West.

Upon graduation from Curtis in 2003, he was offered a position as principal oboe of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, but turned it down in favor of the same position with the orchestra of the San Francisco Ballet. Shortly after that, he was appointed to the Associate Principal oboe chair of the San Francisco Symphony. Two weeks later he won an audition for principal oboe in the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. While in that position, he was a finalist in auditions for principal oboe in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Cleveland Orchestra. He won an audition for the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, also was offered a one-year principal position at the Houston Grand Opera, but turned both down after winning an audition for principal oboe in the Santa Fe Opera.

He has won awards at the Spotlight Competition of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as the Pasadena Instrumental, Fernard Gillet International Oboe, and Tilden Prize competitions. He has twice received the Los Angeles Philharmonic Fellowship.

He was hired as principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 by Lorin Maazel. In this same week that he won this audition, he won an audition for principal oboe in the orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera, but turned down this position in favor of the Philharmonic.

He is a faculty member on leave at Manhattan School of Music. He was named the honorary professor in 2011 at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

In 2015, Liang Wang became a member of the Poulenc Trio

On Sep 16, 2018, it was reported that the New York Philharmonic had decided to fire Liang Wang for "unspecified misconduct". On April 7, 2020, it was reported that Mr. Wang had been reinstated as Principal Oboe of the New York Philharmonic following the ruling of an independent arbitrator..

External links

• New York Times article, April 8, 2007
• Liang Wang's Biography on the New York Philharmonic Website
• Liang Wang and Eugene Izotov play oboe duets
• Liang Wang joins the Poulenc Trio