Lisa Wong selected as Honored Artist of The American Prize

Lisa Wong, Olive Williams Kettering Professor of Music at The College of Wooster, has been selected as an Honored Artist of The American Prize, 2023, for “sustained excellence” over a number of seasons as laureates of The American Prize competitions. Announced as part of The American Prize annual Independence Day Honors, July 4, 2023, and presented by The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts, the award consists of a beautifully framed citation recognizing the honoree’s contributions to the art.

“I am humbled and honored to have been selected. I was completely surprised when David Katz, chief judge of The American Prize, contacted me to let me know about the award,” said Wong, who also directs the Wooster Chorus and serves as director of choruses for The Cleveland Orchestra. “I happily accepted on behalf of all of the choristers I have had the good fortune to work with over the course of my career. A conductor is nothing without an ensemble to direct, and I am so fortunate to include the Wooster Chorus among the very best of the ensembles with whom I have worked.”

Under Wong’s direction, the award-winning Wooster Chorus has been selected to perform at the Central Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association and selected three times to perform at the state conference of the Ohio Music Education Association. Wong has premiered 16 new works with the Wooster Chorus, including Jake Runestad’s Ner Ner (2015). At the College, she also teaches courses in conducting, choral literature, and music education.

Wong was named as director of choruses for The Cleveland Orchestra in 2017. In this capacity, she oversees all choral performances and prepares The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Blossom Festival Chorus for performances throughout the season. She has prepared choruses for Franz Welser-Möst, John Adams, Alan Gilbert, Susanna Mälkki, Jane Glover, and others. Prior to her current position, Lisa was assistant director of choruses under the tutelage of Robert Porco, and director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus.

Wong has worked with students of all levels, ranging from pre-kindergarten through college. Before moving to Ohio, she was active as a music educator for sixteen years in New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. An advocate for music education and women in leadership, Lisa remains active as a clinician, guest conductor, and adjudicator. She regularly serves as a Music Panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and works as an adjudicator for Festivals of Music. She has presented her work at conferences for the American Choral Directors Association, the Ohio Choral Directors Association, the Ohio Music Education Association, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and is frequently invited to work with students and educators in clinics and workshops.

Wong has a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from West Chester University, and Master of Music and Doctor of Music degrees in Choral Conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

The American Prize National Nonprofit Competitions in the Performing Arts is the nation’s most comprehensive series of contests in the performing arts. The American Prize is unique in scope and structure, designed to recognize and reward the best performing artists, directors, ensembles, and composers in the United States at professional, college/university, community, and high school levels, based on submitted recordings. Now in its thirteenth year, The American Prize was founded in 2010 and is awarded annually in many areas of the performing arts. Thousands of artists from all fifty states have derived benefit from their participation in the contests of The American Prize, representing literally hundreds of communities and arts organizations across the nation.

Photo: Roger Mastroianni

Posted in News on July 10, 2023.