Derek Wang

Bio

Pianist Derek Wang moves fluidly across performance, collaboration, curation, and public engagement with “enviable idiomatic rigor” (The Wall Street Journal) and the relish of “a musical gourmand” (Le Devoir). He first gained international recognition for his interpretations of Liszt, earning Second Prize at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in 2022 and First Prize at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021.

In 2025, Derek was appointed Creative Enterprise Fellow at The Juilliard School, where he leads multidisciplinary initiatives, including A Place for Us, the opening festival for Juilliard Station, a new street-facing performance space. A returning guest artist at the Rome Chamber Music Festival, he also appears regularly with violinist Robert McDuffie at the Aspen Music Festival.

His interdisciplinary work includes collaborations with choreographer Robert Battle, animator Hugh Welchman, and poet-activist Emtithal Mahmoud. A champion of contemporary music, he served as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble for three seasons.

Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and the Yale School of Music and is completing studies at the Musikhochschule Hannover.