Tak Kei Wong is a Hong Kong composer and violinist currently based in Manchester, UK. He graduated with a Master of Music in Composition from the Royal Northern College of Music(RNCM). His principal teachers were Adam Gorb and Gary Carpenter. He is the recipient of the CASH Music Scholarship 2019-2020. (approx. £20,000), offered by the Composers and Authors Society of Hong Kong Ltd. Before joining the RNCM, he finished his Bachelor Degree of Art(Music) at the Music Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong(CUHK), under the tutelage of Prof. Kai-Young Chan, Prof. Victor Chan and Prof. Wendy Lee.
Wong's most iconic choral piece, Mei Lai Building(text by Xixi) received its premiere from Hong Kong Children's Choir after its revision in 2022 and has thus been performed in the UK and the US. Wong’s Solo for Soprano and Flute was premiered by Coco Lau and Cristina Pastore in a concert in support of Ukraine, at Museum der Moderne, Salzburg, Austria. He was also commissioned to compose for the saxophone ensemble to be performed in the North American Saxophone Alliance 2022 Biennial Conference(cancelled due to covid restrictions).
Wong’s Last but Not Least for Reed Quintet was chosen as one of the Special Mentions in the Calefax Composers Competition 2020. The piece has then been performed many times across the UK. His Concertino for Two Saxophones was featured in RNCM Brand New Orchestra, premiered by Idesta Duo. His other work Feather's Groove for chamber ensemble, commissioned by the RNCM, was featured in the "RNCM New Ensemble" concert during the "In Focus: Errollyn Wallen" festival. His And... for Timpani and Cello was featured ina the Toolbox International Creative Academy 2019, where he won the Honourable Mention for Toolbox Composition Prize. In 2018, his Scattered Spiral for Wind quintet, which was awarded the second prize in the New Generation 2018 Concert, was broadcast by Radio Television Hong Kong.
His music has been performed by David Herberts, Oliver Herberts, Coco Lau, Cristina Pastore, SaxConTrust, Idesta Duo, Sonix Duo, Contrast Trio, Northern Reeds, Hong Kong Wind Kamerata, RNCM New Ensemble, RNCM Brand New Orchestra, Hong Kong Children's choir, Michigan State University Chamber Choir and the Chung Chi Orchestra. He has also collaborated with BBC Singers, Trifarious, Mivos Quartet and Hong Kong Poet XiXi.
Wong also loves collaborating with different media and art forms. Recently, he played the role of a musician-actor, alongside dancers from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, in a contemporary dance theatre "HOme to My MOther", produced by ZOOBIN SURTY Company. The show was performed at the Leeds Play House and Seven Arts Space, where tickets were sold off. He has also written for Exploring the Man: Puberty a dance theatre by Edenamiuki Aiguobasinmwin and the music for animation, performed by Idesta Duo.
As one of the creative collaborations, Wong was also the founder and former violinist of Subito Ensemble, which specialised in contemporary music improvisation. The Ensemble has recently been invited to the Sound of Contagion, held at Universität der Künste Berlin. It is a creative collaboration project between researchers and artists from the University of Oxford, the Royal Northern College of Music, and the Universität der Künste Berlin. The Ensemble was also featured in the StART RNCM project and the “Live and Experimental" session in the Rotation Dance Exchange.
Coming from a working-class family, Tak Kei Wong did not start his proper music training until the age of 14, when he learned the violin from Ms Wendy Wing Sze Lau. Before entering the University, he briefly studied with Dr Wah Hei Ng, who is also his first composition teacher. During his bachelor's study, Dr Joseph Kam was his principal teacher who built a solid foundation for his violin skills.
Apart from being a composer, Wong is also a freelance graphic designer and photographer who has worked with a lot of music organisations in Hong Kong, including the Department of Music, CUHK, Alumni Association, Department of Music, CUHK, Cong Quartet, UNCG Saxophone Department, the 5422 Collective, Ensemble Mise-en, Hong Kong International Saxophone Society, Diocesan Alumnae Orchestra, and many individual musicians.