Randy Wong: Double Bassist, Composer, & Artist-Entrepreneur
Born in 1980, Hawaii's Randy Wong got his start jamming on bass with the Hawaiian musicians of Waipuna and Puamana, and watching performances by exotica vibraphonist and family friend Arthur Lyman. Before long, he was heavily involved in the Hawaii Youth Symphony and other notable music programs for Hawaii's youth, and soon after spent two summers studying classical double bass at Tanglewood with members of the Boston Symphony. In 1999, he was a Finalist in the Iolani School Concerto Competition and was awarded one of two Trustees Scholarships by the Board of Trustees of the Kennedy Center/National Symphony Orchestra. Randy began his musical studies in solfege and piano at age 3, and started playing bass at age 9. As a youth, he led the jazz group "Those Three Guys," with whom he regularly performed, and recorded two albums.
Since moving to the East Coast, Randy regularly works as a bandleader, composer, arts educator, and entrepreneur. He co-founded and leads the exotic tiki-tainment group WAITIKI, whose debut album "Charred Mammal Flesh: Exotic Music for BBQ" was released to critical acclaim in September 2005. WAITIKI, and its 20-piece "Orchestrotica" was invited to Mexico City by the Mexican government to perform a tribute to composer/arranger Juan Garcia Esquivel for the 2006 Festival de Mexico.
Randy also co-founded the Hawaiian-style jam band AKAMAI BRAIN COLLECTIVE, whose self-titled album was released in 2003 and was nominated for a Hawaii Music Award, in the category of "Best Hawaiian Instrumental Album of the Year." The album was released on PASS OUT RECORDS, an independent record label Randy started with longtime friends and bandmates Eric and Abe Lagrimas.
As a double bassist, Randy has worked with notable artists such as Gunther Schuller, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Michael Stern, Andrew Litton, Leif Segerstam, Michael Cain, Noel Okimoto, Na Leo Pilimehana, the Honolulu Symphony, and Don Tiki. He has appeared frequently on NPR-affiliate stations in interviews and performances, and his concerts have included Carnegie Music Hall, and NEC's Jordan Hall. In 2005, Randy led WAITIKI in a sold-out performance of the Hawaii International Jazz Festival at Honolulu's prestigious Hawaii Theatre.
Randy’s primary studio teachers have been Todd Seeber, Michael Cain, Larry Scripp, Cecil McBee, Michael Gorman, and Jeffrey Turner
Randy is a 2003 Honors Graduate of New England Conservatory, where he earned a Bachelors of Music in Classical Double Bass performance, and a Concentration in Music-In-Education. He also holds an Ed.M in Arts In Education from Harvard University, and further studied double bass at Carnegie Mellon University.
--
Download this document: PDF | DOC