Derek Wang
Pianist Derek Wang moves across performance, collaboration, curation, and public engagement with the “enviable idiomatic rigor” of a connoisseur (The Wall Street Journal) and the relish of “a musical gourmand” (Le Devoir).
Derek first came to international attention with his interpretations of Liszt, receiving awards at the 12th International Liszt Competition (Liszt Utrecht) in 2022 (Second Prize) and at the inaugural New York Liszt Competition in 2021 (First Prize).
Derek's work across disciplines includes collaborations with leading choreographers at the Vail Dance Festival, with Academy Award-winning animator Hugh Welchman, and with poet-activist Emtithal Mahmoud for the opening session of the 2025 Aspen Ideas Festival. Derek held a three-summer-long position as pianist of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble at the Aspen Music Festival. He is presently CreativeEnterprise Fellow at Juilliard, where he curates a range of interdisciplinary programs and shares artistic direction of Juilliard Station, a new street-facing performance space.
Derek holds degrees from Juilliard and from the Yale School of Music. His principal teachers have included Stephen Hough, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Matti Raekallio, and Boris Slutsky. He continues his studies at the Musikhochschule in Hannover, Germany with Arie Vardi. For more information and the latest concert schedule, please visit www.derek-wang.com.
These concerts mark Mr. Wang’s first appearance with the Des Moines Symphony.
Wang will perform Liszt's Totentanz. Beautiful Monsters—John Williams and Symphonie Fantastique. Read more about him before attending the performances on October 31 and November 01, 2026 at the Des Moines Civic Center!
