Tracy Wong
Tracy Wong is pursuing her Doctorate of Musical Arts in piano performance at the University of Southern California, studying under Antoinette Perry. She is also currently serving as the department coordinator for the Colburn School’s Center for Innovation and Community Impact, which aims to break barriers in community engagement while simultaneously furthering artistic career development for undergraduate and graduate students. While her first love has always been music, she has also spent much of her higher education dedicated to enhancing her pedagogy and performance with related industries. As such, she also holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor concentrations in business, entrepreneurship, music education, and arts leadership. It is her personal philosophy that the arts serve as a method of communication between the self and the world at large. Pursuant to that communication, she strives to spark curiosity, drive, and self-awareness in her teaching, performances, and professional life.
Tracy began her piano studies at the age of three and debuted her first solo performance with Beethoven’s Concerto No. 1 with the Saint Petersburg State Symphony in Russia at the age of nine. She has gone on to perform with many orchestras including the Louisville Symphony and Chicago Ars Viva Symphony. Her accolades include first place at the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, Delta Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition, and the Joseph Shelhardt Award at the Hellam Young Artist Competition. As a performer, Tracy has been featured at some of the most preeminent concert venues in the world, including Lincoln Center, the Beloselsky- Belozersky Palace, and Carnegie Hall. She is also a National YoungArts alumnus in classical music and part of the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.
Outside of being an active performer, Tracy has also worked professionally with a diverse array of arts organizations in order to broaden access to music. Along with her work at the Colburn School, she is a pre-interviewer for National Public Radio’s “From the Top” segment, focusing on highlighting young musicians’ personal and musical journeys. She has also worked with the San Francisco Opera’s Education Department, the Cincinnati Arts Association, and the Pasadena Symphony and Pops in a variety of roles including professional development, media management, competition operations, and special events. As a teacher and active performer, this has given her a comprehensive view on what is expected and needed of professional musicians today.
As a music educator, Tracy was previously on faculty and the executive assistant at the Indiana University Young Pianists pre-college department. She is also an active member of the Music Teachers National Association as well as the California Association of Professional Music Teachers. Her previous students have received high honors and distinctions through advanced levels of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s examination program and she encourages a goal- oriented exploration of creativity, allowing students to flourish in both self-discovery and excellence. Her priority as an educator is to understand each student’s aspirations and incorporate those unique goals into a larger curriculum of disciplined but holistic music learning. While this may include a vigorous emphasis on learning diverse repertoire, music theory, aural training, and technique, previous students have also enjoyed forays into improvisation, digital music-making, and interdisciplinary projects. Fundamentally, Tracy believes that every lesson is a chance to deepen the understanding of how music interacts with each student’s unique experience of the world.