Jeremy Wong

baritone

EDUCATION OUTREACH COORDINATOR

MEMBER SINCE: 2021

HOMETOWN: Honolulu, HI

EDUCATION: M.M., Vocal Performance, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa; B.M.A., Music, DePauw University

Baritone Jeremy M. Wong enjoys a wonderfully varied career as a singer, conductor, and voice teacher who has performed on both the international and U.S. stages with focuses in oratorio, art song, and ensemble singing. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, past seasons have seen him premiering solo roles in major choral compositions that honor the culture and history of the islands. He has enjoyed many collaborations with the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra (HSO) and the O‘ahu Choral Society, most notably originating a solo quartet for the world premiere of Michael-Thomas Foumai’s Raise Hawaiki (2019)—a choral symphony chronicling the 1976 maiden voyage of the Hōkūle’a—a double-hulled sailing canoe that traveled from Honolulu to Tahiti using ancient navigational techniques, and the story of Eddie Aikau, a major figure in contemporary Hawaiian culture. Jeremy also sang as soloist in the full premiere of Herb Mahelona’s Kinohi (2018), an a cappella oratorio in ‘olelo Hawai‘i (the Hawaiian language). Jeremy made his debut with the HSO in 2016, singing the bass solo to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under the baton of JoAnn Falletta. Jeremy is an active recitalist whose major interests include German Lieder, Japanese art song, and American art song, most recently performing in a joint recital at Harvard University with mezzo-soprano Elizabeth Eschen (2019).

As a conductor and voice teacher, Jeremy has experience and success teaching a wide variety of ages and skill levels, having been invited to give choral clinics and adjudicate festivals in the Honolulu, Portland, and Seattle areas. He is passionate about bringing vocal awareness and health into the choral classroom, and finding musicality through efficient vocal technique. He has collaborated with Early Music Hawai‘i as guest conductor and curator, and has led choirs at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) and Hawai‘i Pacific University (HPU). He has served on the voice faculties of UHM, HPU, and Lewis and Clark College in Portland, OR.

As an ensemble singer, Jeremy has sung with the Oregon Bach Festival as a core member of the Berwick Chorus, and has appeared with the Carnegie Hall Chamber Chorus, performing in a joint concert with Peter Phillips’s Tallis Scholars. Jeremy has also had the privilege of lending his voice to international project choruses, including the Junges Stuttgarter Bach Ensemble—where he also made his international solo debut, and the Weimar Bach Cantata Academy under the baton of maestro Helmuth Rilling. He is passionate about collaborative music making, and is thrilled to create music at a high level with the singers of Cantus.

GET TO KNOW JEREMY

1. When did you know you wanted to sing professionally?

I was born into a musical family—my mom plays the flute, my dad, percussion—and I’ve been singing in choirs since the third grade. In my junior year of high school, my youth chorus director Nola Nāhulu asked me if I would be interested in conducting one of our pieces for a spring fundraiser performance. That was the moment where I knew I wanted to do music professionally. Fast forward to 2015 and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Germany to sing in a young professional choir of my peers. 60+ musicians from all over the world, all around my age, all supremely talented and as nerdy about music as I was? That was when the realization hit that I might be able to sing professionally, and I’ve been chasing that dream ever since.

2. If you could commission any composer for Cantus (alive or deceased) who would it be and why?

Hawai’i’s Queen Lili’uokalani was an incredible musician who sang and played four instruments, on TOP of being a prolific composer whose work spans well past her Aloha ‘Oe. I think it would be incredible to see what she could do with a high-powered ensemble such as Cantus.

3. What country would you most like to visit as a member of Cantus?

I am very passionate about travel (sort of a very armchair Av Geek) and learning about cultures that are outside of my own. Asia, South America, and Europe are all on my bucket list, and I would be honored to have a chance to sing in any of those places with Cantus.

4. What is your favorite hobby outside of singing?

I’m definitely a recovering bubble tea addict (black or oolong milk tea, 0% sugar, with boba, in case anyone’s interested). Other than that, I enjoy experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen while listening to a good podcast or going down a weird YouTube rabbit hole.

5. If you could hang out with any celebrity (alive or deceased) who would it be and why?

I think spending a day with Samin Nosrat of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat fame would be fantastic. Her warm spirit and good humor jumps off the screen, and I can only imagine what a joy she would be to hang out with in real life! Plus you would get fed really well, which is always a plus.

6. If you had access to a time machine, when and where would you go?

I think the question is if, when traveling, I would be able to interact with people I meet, or be an invisible bystander watching from the sidelines. If the former, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere because the Butterfly Effect is real. If it were the latter… I don’t know, maybe try to be a fly-on-the-wall during the premiere of Hamilton so I don’t have to pay an unholy amount of money to get the experience. — Or go to Hollywood and get the hot gossip on some famous people.

7. What is the most played album in your iTunes library?

Lately I’ve been obsessed with Singaporean pop/R&B artist Benjamin Kheng’s EP A Sea That Never Sleeps. He’s got an amazingly soulful voice and his music is a really cool mix of R&B, ambient/lo-fi music, and gospel.

8. You’re stranded on an island – which three books or movies do you bring for entertainment?

The 2019 season of the Great British Bake-Off, Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles, and the anime Haikyuu! (If I can, I would try my hardest to also sneak with me any album of comedian John Mulaney’s.)

9. Share with us one of your greatest days ever.

I’ve been really lucky to have experienced many fantastic days, both related to music and not. But if you ask me now what an ideal day might look like: it would be a leisurely day in 60-70 degree fall weather, maybe curling up with a book, some ambient music, a bubble tea (see? Obsessed), and nothing on my schedule but maybe the odd cooking project or a hangout with close friends.

10. What do you want people to know about Cantus?

I’ve been really struck with the genuine heart and passion that my fellow singers approach everything. Music, programming, day-to-day, you name it! I’m really honored to join a group that believes so strongly in its mission and vision of doing meaningful music and making it as accessible as possible.