Dr Nicholas Ong is the first Malaysian to receive a Doctorate in Piano Performance at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York. Prior to that, he studied at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris under a french government scholarship, and read a Master of Music degree at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University. He is the recipient of many international prizes, including First Prize at the Yvonne Lefébure International Piano Competition in France and finalist at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland. The New York Times praised him for his “firm rubber-ball touch and bounce” and Le Figaro for his “astonishing virtuosity.”
He has performed in numerous concerts and festivals across the United States, Europe and Asia. As a versatile chamber musician, he performs with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra musicians in their chamber music concerts as well as concerts with principals of major orchestras and young talented musicians. A fervent believer in contemporary music, he has performed with France’s Ensemble 2e2m; New Juilliard Ensemble and Mimesis Ensemble in the United States.
Currently Senior Lecturer at the NAFA School of Music, Dr Ong will present an all-Debussy recital on this evening.