We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Esme Wong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Esme , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Although I started playing the piano at the age of 3, I never expected myself to pursue music performance as a career until I was 18 years old, during my first living abroad experience in Italy. At that time, I was representing my country, Malaysia, as one of the United World College’s music scholars which broadened my knowledge about roots and customs of Western art. Living in Italy was an eye opening experience that inspired me in my musical journey as I was able to have first hand cultural and vision exposure to different Western Classical arts that had I invested in since the tender age of 3. I vividly remember my weekly Philosophy and World Arts and Culture classes along with hours of music training that allowed me to deeply explore the world of arts ranging from Baroque to Contemporary. Because of the nature of United World College’s concept of bringing students from over 150 countries worldwide, I am able to connect with people from all walks of life. With my Malaysian background of living in a multiracial and multilingual society, I am always curious for new cultures and willing to live with an open mind and accept differences. To me, that is one of the most important elements to setting yourself towards success as a musician. I learnt that being a musician is more than having resilience and persistence in music practice, but it requires passion, being adventurous, willingness to take risk and the right energy to crave your art. My study in Italy gave me the reassurance and absolutely ignited my passion to pursue a pianist life that later springboarded my journey across continents to continue my musical adventures in USA.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am Esme Wong, a Malaysian classical pianist and opera coach who enjoys an international career touring the world from Konzerthaus Vienna to Carnegie Hall’s SongStudio with Renee Fleming. I consider myself as a global citizen as I have lived in six cities from 4 countries since I was born. I am currently based in Dresden, Germany where I run my private coaching and piano studio. My main focus is in the field of collaborative piano where I devoted most of my time to specializing in chamber music, classical vocal repertoire and opera repertoire. I have been working as an opera coach for over 10 years assisting individual classical singers in their musical and diction choices to enhance the artistry of their performances. Through my experience and training in coaching, it is natural for me to be considered for music directing. I have occasionally been invited for Assistant Conductor position in different opera productions throughout my career. One of my biggest goals in my career is to connect with my home community by using my music as a tool to elevate the energy of the environment that we build together. To me, home is a feeling, a place I feel most comfortable, a place where I build connections and memories with my family and friends. It is my dream to amplify my identity as an Asian artist by connecting Asian arts into the western culture. During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, I initiated an online performance series that captured an enormous audience of hundreds of thousands of listeners and was featured in radio and news outlets across America. I aim to continue immersing myself fully in the communities I live in along with my roots and musical intuitions.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I consider myself as a person with high vibrant energy. I believe my personality allows me to embrace all type of people. I enjoy meeting and sharing differences with people. Music is an entrepreneur savvy job that requires a lot of connection building, trials, and errors. As an artist, I think it is our responsibility to constantly evaluate the purpose of our art as we strive to inspire ourselves to become a better part of this world. To me, the most rewarding aspect of life as an artist is not the biggest successes and honors we receive through our performances, but the journey of learning to adapt, taking any uncertainty, and making bold decisions to achieve the goals of our artistry.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I would not say I have only one goal and one mission as I develop and navigate my own creative journey. However, one of my goals that I still hope to accomplish is to start the first classical music festival in Borneo Island, Sarawak – my motherland. Sarawak is a place where all cultures are already mutually respected with everyone embracing each other’s differences by accepting different religions, languages and food! We celebrate differences through sharing meals, experiencing different spices, and embracing different traditions by visiting each other in our respective cultural events. It sounds perfect doesn’t it? It is indeed and I am very proud of my motherland to be able to achieve this in unity. In fact, we have a strong classical music influence from Lady Brooke who is also known as Ranee of Sarawak when we were ruled by the British. I believe it was from there that our community was exposed to classical music alongside our pride in ethnic music which is widely celebrated in the world through our yearly International Rainforest World Music Festival. Moreover, I hope to bring my experience in opera productions to use opera as a tool to engage the youth community in my home. I want to create performances and workshops that engage and provide education to our next generation. I wish to share what my privilege in music education has shaped in me with my community and hope to help young generations to ignite the first flame of their creative journey.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.esmewongpiano.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esmewong/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/esmewongpiano/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@esmewongpianist

Image Credits
Abi Poe Doug Klembara Elle Logan