Jimmy Chiang
Jimmy Chiang is a Hong Kong-born conductor and pianist based in Vienna. Since 2013, he has served as a Kapellmeister of Vienna Boys' Choir.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Chiang's father was a flautist and his mother was a mezzo-soprano and choir director. Chiang began studying piano at the age of four and also learned harpsichord, organ, cello and composition.[1] At the age of 13, he made his first public appearance as a concert pianist with the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra, in which he also served as a cellist from 1994 to 1996; he has been its principal conductor since 2008.[3]
In 1994, Chiang received a Diploma in Piano Performance (FTCL) from Trinity College of Music London in Hong Kong. He had been working on his Bachelor of Music degree at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, from 1996 to 2000, where studied piano with Krassimira Jordan and Daniel Sternberg.[1][4] Chiang subsequently moved to Vienna and studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He studied orchestral conducting with Leopold Hager (becoming his last student), piano with Wolfgang Watzinger (student of Rudolf Serkin), choral conducting with Erwin Ortner, completing a Magister Artium degree with distinction in 2006.[1][5]
In 2003, he was invited by Seiji Ozawa to study under him and perform at the Rohm Music Festival in Kyoto, Japan.[1][5]
Career
[edit]Competition
[edit]In 2007, Chiang won First Prize at the 4th International Competition of Young Conductors Lovro von Matačić in Zagreb, Croatia.[1] [6]
Opera and orchestra conducting (2007–2013)
[edit]From 2007 to 2009, Jimmy Chiang worked at Theater Lübeck in Germany as Assistant Music Director for Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. During this period, he was musical assistant for opera productions at the Eutin Opera Festival. [1] From 2009 to 2011, he joined Theater Freiburg as Kapellmeister, where he conducted several new productions, including Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre directed by Calixto Bieito.[1]
He also appeared as a guest conductor at the Komische Oper Berlin, Theater Heidelberg, and Schönbrunn Palace Theatre in Vienna.[1][7]
Vienna Boys' Choir (2013–present)
[edit]Chiang has worked with the Hong Kong Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra as a pianist, cellist and conductor, and has served as its principal conductor since 2008.[7]
In autumn 2013, Chiang was appointed a choirmaster of the Vienna Boys' Choir and director of the Haydn Choir, one of the organisation's four touring choirs.[1][2][4][8][9] He has led the choir on tours in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In 2016, he made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall.[1][3]
During his tenure with Vienna Boys' Choir, Chiang conducted and prepared the choir for performances at venues including the Vienna Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Seoul Arts Center.[10][7] He has also collaborated with the Vienna Philharmonic in productions conducted by Riccardo Muti and Franz Welser-Möst, and appears on CD albums released by Deutsche Grammophon and DECCA.[1][7]
Alongside his work as a conductor for the choir, Chiang performs as a pianist. In August 2026 he appeared with Sebastian Holecek at Hotel Panhans during the Kultur.Sommer.Semmering.[11] The concert included both accompaniment and solo piano performances. He also performs as pianist at various concerts, including Schloss Halbturn.[12]
Other music activities
[edit]In 2016, Chiang founded the Hong Kong - Vienna Music Festival and served as its artistic director and conductor until 2018. He also conducted the festival's closing performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 at Hong Kong City Hall, which brought together more than 250 performers from Hong Kong and Vienna.[1][13][14]
Since 2021, Chiang has appeared regularly as a guest conductor at the Taranto Opera Festival, where his productions have included Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni. In 2025, he served as musical director of the Piccolo Opera Festival's production of Donizetti's Rita in Gorizia and Dobrovo.[10][15][16]
He has conducted orchestras including the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Imperial Chapel, Zagreb Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Irkutsk Philharmonic, Pori Sinfonietta, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic.[1][7]
Chiang has served as artistic adviser to the Hong Kong Children's Symphony. He was also musical director of Kinderoper Papageno in Vienna since 2011.[1][3]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Emanuel, Wenger (22 April 2021). "Chiang, Chi-Bun Jimmy". Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon online.
- 1 2 "Vienna Boys Choir". Verein Wiener Sängerknaben.
- 1 2 3 "Jimmy Chiang". Sylff Association.
- 1 2 Rae, Jefferson (1 May 2014). "Baylor Alumnus Jimmy Chiang Conducts Vienna Boys' Choir". The Baylor Lariat.
- 1 2 Clauspeter, Koscielny. "Vielseitigkeit entsteht aus Fleiss, Disziplin und Respekt". Orpheus Journal (3–4. 2009): 75, 76.
- ↑ "HAB Congratulates Young Hong Kong Conductor". Home Affairs Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. 18 October 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Jimmy Chiang". Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley.
- ↑ Kienzl, Martin. "Ein lehrreiches Opernvergnügen". BÜHNE (2017): 50.
- ↑ A, Guballa (24 July 2016). "Unglaublich professionell: Wiener Sängerknaben Kapellmeister Jimmy Chiang über seine Jungs und das SHMF". Schleswig-Holstein am Sonntag. p. 22.
- 1 2 "Jimmy Chiang (Austria)". Bösendorfer.
- ↑ "Semmering/ Hotel Panhans: Sebastian Holecek- „A bisserl Herz für`n Himmelvater – A bisserl G`sang für die Seele"". Online Merker (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-17.
- ↑ Ingrid. "Aktuelles Programm". Halbturner Schlosskonzerte (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-17.
- ↑ Josiah, Ng (25 August 2016). "Kappellmeister Jimmy Chiang on the Vienna Boys' Choir and Mahler's Symphony No. 8". Time Out Hong Kong.
- ↑ "An Unprecedented Cultural Spectacle-Hong Kong-Vienna Music Festival". The Chinese University of Hong Kong. 29 June 2016.
- ↑ "Piccolo Opera Festival: Rita". GO! 2025. 9 July 2025.
- ↑ "Taranto Opera Festival: L'emozione della lirica, intervista al m° Jimmy Chiang". Oraquadra. 18 January 2023.