“In an alternate universe, Victor Wang would be wrist-deep in someone’s innards or calibrating a sample for a clinical trial in a lab. Instead, he’s wrapping his long fingers around a flute in the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra,” writes Lawrence Toppman in Thursday’s (8/30) Charlotte Observer (N.C.). “Five years ago, [he was] en route to his bachelor’s degree in microbiology at Yale University…. Instead, he earned a master’s degree in music at Yale…. A year after graduating, [in 2016] he won the principal’s chair in the CSO. He’ll get the spotlight Feb. 22-23, playing solos in Michael Daugherty’s ‘Trail of Tears’ and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Sleeping Beauty.’ … He wasn’t deterred when, as a Yale freshman, he applied to nine summer music festivals and got into none. He improved and finished a combined bachelor’s/master’s program that charged no tuition for the second degree. After a year in a Bard College orchestra that trains people for gigs like the one he has now, Wang began his first round of professional auditions. Orchestras hold those behind screens, so judges can’t identify musicians. At 23, he played above his age…. What made him stand out here? He smiles modestly. ‘I had a good day.’ ”
Posted September 5, 2018
