Kara Wong is sixteen years old and lives in Tustin, California. She began her musical journey with piano at the age of six, the violin at the age of eleven, and viola at age thirteen. Currently, she is studying with Ms. Sorah Myung. Kara is the principal violist for the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Orange County School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of 2022, she was principal of the Honors Performance Series Orchestra, which performed at the Musikverein Hall.
Most recently, Kara was accepted into the National Youth Orchestra and had a masterclass with renowned violist Li-Kuo Chang. Previously, she was a member of the California Orchestra Directors Association All-State Orchestra in 2023, SCSBOA All-Southern Orchestra in 2021, and Tustin Unified Honor Orchestra 2020.
In 2022, Kara made her debut at Carnegie Hall after receiving 2nd place in the American Protégé International Piano and Strings Competition 2021 for piano. She has also won first prizes in multiple solo competitions for both piano and viola, such as the Musical Arts Competition of Orange County 2022, Satori Summer Music Festival All Qualified Category 2021, and Entry Qualified Category 2020.
Besides being a member of her school’s Instrumental Music Chamber Program, Kara is also a member of the Pacific Symphony Youth Quartet and Octet. In 2019-20, she was a member of the Junior Chamber Music Program, and in 2021-22, she was a member of the Chamber Music Orange County Pre-College Program where she had masterclasses with Peter Zazofsky and the Kronos Quartet.
This summer, Kara will perform with the National Youth Orchestra, playing at Carnegie Hall in New York, El Teatro Nacional Eduardo Brito, and El Gran Teatro del Cibao in Santo Domingo. She will also perform at the Smetana Hall in Prague with the Pacific Symphony Youth Orchestra.
You can find Kara’s 2023 19th Century Music Competition piano performance here.