Wong was born in 1986 to Victor Wong, a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) warrant officer, and Yeo Huay Lan, a childcare teacher. His family lived in a five-room HDB flat in the Jurong West neighborhood of Singapore.[3][4]
Wong attended River Valley High School during his secondary school years and played the trumpet in the school's Concert Band. After graduation he enrolled in Raffles Institution for his pre-university education, and joined the school's symphonic band and took up music as an A-Level subject. His interest in a professional career with an orchestra began with his participation in Singapore National Youth Orchestra rehearsals, his first experiences of a Western symphony orchestra with strings.[5]
Wong performed with the SAF military band during his national service and suffered a nerve injury to his lips from over-playing the trumpet. While he was recovering, he started composing and formed a group to perform his compositions. At this point he started considering becoming a professional conductor.[6] In 2010, Wong was part of a group that formed the Asian Contemporary Ensemble, which focuses on Singaporean and Asian composers.[3] In 2011, he began studying opera and orchestral conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin, Germany, after receiving the Lee Kuan Yew scholarship. He earned his master's degree in 2014.[7][8]
Wong became chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, his first full-time orchestral conducting post, in September 2018.[3][10][14] Wong concluded his Nuremberg tenure in August 2022.[15]
Wong conducted the New York Philharmonic's annual Lunar New Year concert in February 2019.[16] In December 2019, the Federal President of Germany awarded him the Order of Merit for his achievements in Singaporean-German cultural relations and the advancement of German music culture abroad.[17] He co-founded Project Infinitude with Marina Mahler, the granddaughter of Gustav Mahler, in 2016 as part of a global music education initiative by the Mahler Foundation.[18]
In March 2021, Wong first guest-conducted the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO). In August 2021, the JPO appointed Wong as its principal guest conductor, effective September 2021, with an initial contract of 2 years.[19] In May 2022, the JPO announced the appointment of Wong as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2023-2024 season, with an initial contract of 5 years.[20]
Wong first guest-conducted the Dresden Philharmonic in 2021, and returned for a further guest-conducting appearance in 2022. In April 2023, the Dresden Philharmonic announced the appointment as Wong as its next principal guest conductor, as of the 2023-2024 season, with a contract of two seasons.[21]
Wong first guest-conducted The Hallé in February 2023.[22] In June 2023, The Hallé announced the appointment of Wong as its next principal conductor and artistic advisor, effective with the 2024-2025 season, with an initial contract of 5 seasons.[23]
