Alumni Spotlight: Randy Wong ’03
Hawaii-born and raised, Randy Wong is a distinctive voice within the arts administration and musical communities, and is one of the few Asian-American Executive Directors of an orchestra in the United States. He is an official member and thought influencer of the invitation-only Forbes Nonprofit Council, where he shares his insights on arts education and youth development.
As the President and CEO of Hawaii Youth Symphony (HYS), Randy passionately champions its strategic vision of a Hawaii where Music Is A Right. In addition to leading HYS, Randy is also a bassist in the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. Prior to HYS, Randy was Program Director and Information Architect for the Music-in-Education National Consortium, and faculty and staff at New England Conservatory. He has recorded and produced albums in many genres including jazz, Hawaiian, and exotica, and holds degrees from New England Conservatory and Harvard Graduate School of Education.
In his free time, Randy likes to give back, serving as Vice Chair for the League of American Orchestras’ Youth Orchestra Division and volunteering with Hawaii Public Radio/Generation Listen. He mentors first-generation immigrant college students through ʻAʻaliʻi Mentoring, guides high school students from the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, and supports graduate students at Harvard University and New England Conservatory as an alumni mentor.
Randy and his wife/fellow NEC alum, Helen Liu '03 MM, '04 GD.
Why did you choose NEC?
First, to study with Todd Seeber, Bassist in the BSO, whom I met when I studied at Boston University Tanglewood Institute. Secondly, because of NEC’s super strong fixed-do Solfege pedagogy, started by Roger Voisin ’91 hon. DM and further developed by Alan Fletcher, Larry Scripp, Lyle Davidson ’62, ’64 MM, Paul Burdick ’87 MM, Doug Buys and others. Third, to join its Music-in-Education program, which was founded by Larry and Lyle in the year prior to my enrollment at NEC. Music-in-Education was an innovative, research-based program informed by the work for Harvard Project Zero. And fourth, because NEC had a boundary-breaking Contemporary Musical Arts (formerly Contemporary Improvisation) program that was out of the confines of mainstream jazz programs.
What have you been up to since graduating from NEC? What projects have you been working on? Do you have any goals you are looking to accomplish?
Various combinations of performing, teaching, arts leadership. While my "home base" will always be in orchestral music as a bassist, I have produced records and projects in jazz, Hawaiian, exotica, free jazz, and other eclectic genres. I've written for orchestras, arranged pop music, presented at intimate and large-scale concert venues, and worked with A-list soloists and hometown heroes. I am actively involved in mentoring and am frequently sought after for coaching. I am also involved in restaurants and have presented at StarChefs International Chefs Congress, written for food and beverage magazines, travel journals, trade publications, and more.
What are some of your favorite memories from your time at NEC?
I loved hearing my classmates' musical projects, which were the germination points for the development of their personal styles. Heather Masse ’04, Aoife O'Donovan ’03, and Corey DiMario ’01 founded Crooked Still, which was later spun into the Wailin' Jennys. The jam band Bootyjuice was started by Michael Gamble ’02 and Zach Lucas ’03. There is also The InBetweens by Noah Jarrett ’03, Conor Elmes ’03, and Michael Gamble ’02.
I loved attending the wide range of classes NEC had to offer— including the Art of the Fugue, 16th Century Counterpoint with Lyle Davidson, John Heiss's classes on Ives & Bartok, and hearing my friends’ interpretations of what they were learning and doing in classes. Zaccai Curtis ’03 GD, now a renowned Afro-Latin and Cuban pianist, was in my Tonal Harmony classes. Our teachers would ask him to play voice-leading examples, which he would then turn into montunos.
I also valued the opportunities I had through the Music-in-Education program to observe improvisation classes for kindergartners at Peabody Elementary School. I enjoyed doing educational outreach at the Boston Arts Academy with The Solfege Five, which included my classmates David Fulmer ’04, Ben Levy ’02, Ashley Vandiver ’03, and Courtenay Vandiver ’03, ’05 MM. It was also great to watch NEC composers teach middle school musicians in their after-school chess clubs about alternative notation and composition through chess formations!
Share a story about one of your favorite faculty or studio instructors.
I really loved Alan Fletcher's Advanced Harmony class when he was Provost and Dean, particularly the way he dissected works like Tristan & Isolde or Chopin's Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4. To this day, that is my favorite Mazurka because of the way he explained its composition. I also enjoyed Laurence Lesser's Aural Heritage of String Playing, and the ways he would try to trick us as we listened to recordings of Heifetz, Auer, or Oistrakh. Many faculty would inspire us to reach beyond our instruments for further inspiration. Lesser, for example, would always talk about string players adapting vocal techniques from old Russian masters like Feodor Chaliapin. Or, when Larry Scripp, F. John Adams, Paul Burdick ’87 MM, Doug Buys, and Katarina Milkjovic ’99 DMA would hold Solfege parties and we would sing through Beethoven symphonies, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Taking bass lessons with Cecil McBee was always a trip too; he had a ton of stories from recording sessions and his jazz heritage.
Todd Seeber played a major role in my NEC experience. He also hailed from Hawaii and is a virtuoso musician in every sense. The inspirations he takes from the broader arts, whether it was collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, classical architecture, or Soviet-era silent film, has played a long lasting role in my own development and appreciation for the arts beyond orchestral music.
How have your NEC experiences shaped your artistic approach?
Studying with the brilliant educational researcher and philosopher Larry Scripp was truly a gift. Larry formulated the notion that musicians are inherently Artist-Teacher-Scholars. Larry could dive deep into practically every aspect of learning an instrument, developing musical intellect, and articulating the need of why music should be a part of every child's elementary education. He was relentlessly passionate, always a champion and advocate for the many roles that performers can play in the broad realm of education and public policy. I still call upon Larry's thinking to this day in my advocacy and fundraising work.
Another formative experience for me was my serendipitous founding of the NEC Hawaii Club, dedicated to educating the student body about Hawaiian food, music and culture. I was the only student from Hawaii at NEC and was really homesick! So, for three years, I was able to partner with the NEC Students and Campus Life office to create an all-school Luau that included traditional Hawaiian food (I taught the cafeteria kitchen staff how to prepare the food), music (I organized my jazz & CMA friends into ensembles playing Hawaiian music of all styles), and a hula halau (hula troupes) from other colleges' Hawaii clubs to perform at our luaus. The luaus were free to the entire school and were attended by faculty, students, and staff. In its second year, I obtained corporate sponsorships to help offset food and other costs. One of the ensembles I started to play in the luaus, WAITIKI, has thrived since and is now celebrating its 20th anniversary season. As I joined the NEC Music-in-Education program, I began to do performance outreach and school residencies for WAITIKI. The marketing, publicity, fundraising, engagement, and event planning skills I started to develop back then still live with me as a professional arts administrator today.
Share any other stories about what has inspired you at NEC and beyond.
The professional staff at NEC were incredible as well. All the librarians, audio engineers, security staff, piano tuners, etc. were really fantastic and helped students do our very best. I've kept in touch with many of them since graduating and have also engaged them in musical projects. It's just an incredible network to be part of.
Do you have any advice for young musicians/current NEC students?
Practice hard, but not to the exclusion of taking opportunities or exploring. Do things outside of your comfort zone. Finding comfort in vulnerability is where true growth happens.
Learn More About Randy:
Current Job: President & CEO, Hawaii Youth Symphony; Bassist, Hawaii Symphony Orchestra
Major: Double Bass Performance with a concentration in Music-in-Education
Degree: Bachelor of Music
Class Year: 2003
Instrument: Double Bass
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