This page reprints the writeup for Jun Wang, former Music Director and Conductor of the Oshkosh Symphony Orchestra which appeared in the concert programs while he was Conductor.
Jun Wang, Music Director and Conductor (1997 - 5/2002)
Jun Wang's (former) UW Oshkosh Music Department home page [Archive] [from The Internet Archive]
As a child in Enshi, a beautiful city in the south of China, Jun Wang's introduction to music was the songs his mother sang. When he heard a neighbor playing the Rehu, a 2-string instrument, and a Chinese flute, the sounds interested him and he cut and carved his own bamboo flute.
Jun got some singing education in elementary school and continued playing his flute. He was also able to attend performances of Peking opera in school but was not exposed to western music and was not aware of symphonies, orchestras or western instruments.
His musical talent was discovered when he was 11 years old and was the only child in his city selected by the Hubei Opera House to learn the violin. He'd never even seen a violin, even in a picture. "When I looked at a violin the first time I was shocked by four strings. My neighbor's Rehu had only two strings and I didn't know how to decide which string was supposed to play!"
Jun had never seen a staff before and was suddenly studying harmony, fugue, counterpoint, composition, violin and piano. But after just three years, he was able to play major violin concertos.
In 1981, Jun was the only auditioner accepted in conducting at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. While studying there, he conducted the Shanghai Conservatory Symphony, the Shanghai Philharmonic Society, the Hubei Opera House Orchestra, the Central Opera House in Beijing and the Shanghai Conservatory Chamber Orchestra.
After he received his B.A., he was hired by the Central Philharmonic Society in Beijing, then was accepted to Western Michigan University in 1990 where he received his Master of Music in conducting. He went on to the Peabody Conservatory of Music and received his Graduate Performance Diploma in 1995.
Jun joined the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh as Assistant Professor of Music in 1995. he conducts the University Symphony Orchestra and teaches conducting, music theory and symphonic literature.
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