An emerging conductor and violinist/violist, Kai-Chun Wong served as Assistant Conductor of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra during the 2024–25 season. A prize-winning conductor, he was recently awarded First Prize at the Los Angeles Conducting Workshop and Competition and Second Prize at the International Conductors Workshop and Competition. He has also been selected as a Conducting Scholar at the Eastern Festival of Music and a Conducting Participant at the Mostly Modern Festival. Wong is currently pursuing the Professional Studies Diploma in Orchestral Conducting at the Mannes School of Music, where he studies with David Hayes.
Equally at home on either side of the podium, Wong maintains an active career as both conductor and string player. Recent engagements as a violinist and violist include performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, Longview Symphony Orchestra, and Texarkana Symphony Orchestra. His performance career has taken him throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, with appearances in Germany, the Czech Republic, Russia, Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the United States. Selected twice as a violinist to participate in the Youth Music Culture Guangdong, Wong performed under the baton of Michael Stern alongside Yo-Yo Ma — experiences that further shaped his belief in music's power to connect communities and create meaningful impact.
A native of Hong Kong, Wong holds degrees from Hong Kong Baptist University (B.A.) and Louisiana State University (M.M. in Orchestral Conducting), where he studied with Scott Terrell.
Outside of music, Wong enjoys exploring and sharing different cultures through travel and cuisine and is an avid rock climber, with a redpoint grade of 5.11b in Hong Kong.