Liang Wang is Principal Oboe of the New York Philharmonic, a position to which he was appointed by Music Director Lorin Maazel in 2006. He was previously the Principal Oboist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a position to which he was appointed in 2005 by Music Director Paavo Jarvi.
Mr. Wang was born in 1980 in Qing Dao, China, into a musical family: his mother was an amateur singer, and his uncle was a professional oboist. Liang began his oboe studies with him at the age of seven. In 1993, Mr. Wang enrolled at the Beijing Central Conservatory studying with Professor Zhu Dun, and two years later he became a full-scholarship student at the Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. During his time there, he was the Jack Smith Award Winner at the Pasadena Instrumental Competition, a two-time winner of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Fellowship, and also a winner at the Spotlight Competition of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.Mr. Wang completed his bachelor degree in 2003 at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Oboist Richard Woodhams. While at Curtis, he was a fellowship recipient at both the Aspen Music Festival, where he studied with John de Lancie, the former Principal Oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Music Academy of the West, where he was a Career Grant recipient. Mr. Wang was the second prize winner at the 2003 Fernard Gillet International Oboe Competition and a prizewinner at the 2002 Tilden Prize Competition.Since graduating, Mr. Wang has been appointed Principal Oboe in many different orchestras, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, the Grant Park Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony, Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Shanghai Festival Orchestra and the San Francisco Contemporary ensemble. He was also appointed Associate Principal Oboe of the San Francisco Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas. He was also featured as a guest Principal Oboist in the Chicago Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony.An active chamber musician, Mr. Wang has appeared in such festivals as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Society and the Angel Fire Music Festival, collaborating with artists such as Mark Neikrug, Ida Kavafian, Ursula Oppens, and William Pruecil. He also performs as a soloist, having appeared with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra in Richard Strauss Oboe Concerto and in Santa Fe with Oboe Concertos of Marcello and Vivaldi. As a teacher, Mr. Wang gave master classes at Cincinnati Conservatory, he also held the position of oboe faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley for the time he was in San Francisco. He is also on the faculty for MSM.
