About

(N.B. For a narrative bio, visit the Bio page.)

Derrick Wang began teaching himself to compose at the age of four.

He is now a composer, lyricist, and pianist, creating dramatic music for the stage, studio, and concert hall.

EDUCATION:

• Harvard University
  • Phi Beta Kappa; AB Music magna cum laude; Language Citation in Chinese
• Yale School of Music (full scholarship)
  • MMus Composition
• The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University
  • Advanced Certificate in Piano
• University of Maryland School of Law (currently)
  • Houff Scholar and J.D. Candidate

Derrick Wang - Theme from Sonata for Cello and Piano
— Live at the Yale School of Music

AWARDS: His music has won numerous awards and competitions including the

• ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award
• BMI Student Composer Award
• American Modern Ensemble Composition Competition

PERFORMANCES: His work has been performed at venues such as

• The York Theatre Company (New York, NY)
• Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater (New York, NY)
• Ars Nova Theater (New York, NY)
• Center Stage (Baltimore, MD)
• Forbidden City Concert Hall (Beijing, China)
• Shanghai Grand Theatre (Shanghai, China)

Derrick Wang - Valley, Mountain, Sky
— Live at the Shanghai Grand Theatre

PIANO: In his adventures as a pianist, he has

• performed as a soloist for Justice Stephen G. Breyer (U.S. Supreme Court)
• sung and played with pop performer Katharine McPhee (American Idol)
• accompanied Broadway and TV star Christine Ebersole on five seconds’ notice
• performed his own arrangements with operatic soprano Nicole Cabell
• entertained crowds with his blistering piano renditions of pop hits:

BEYOND COMPOSITION: In addition to composing, he has

• worked in arts management at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Universal Studios
• arranged music for Marvin Hamlisch and for the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall
• edited scores for the musicals Finding Neverland (Katie Holmes) and The Book of Mormon (Broadway 2011)
• taught an original creative-writing curriculum to urban New Haven elementary-school students:

CURRENT PROJECTS include

• The Master Builder — an opera about one architect’s meteoric rise to power
• Prom — a musical about the end of innocence in the age of smartphones

Derrick Wang - “Work It”
— Demo from Prom (performed by Lauren Lim Jackson)

[May 2011]