Maestro Dato’ Woon Wen Kin

Music Director of the Penang Symphony Society

槟州交响乐团音乐总监

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“I wanted to prove that one is never too old to make music. In fact, many of the world’s best conductors go on till their 80s or 90s.”

Maestro Dato’ Woon Wen Kin is a prolific performer, a passionate educator and the most experienced symphony orchestra conductor in Malaysia. In England, he participated in the International Oxford Bach Festival, the Annual Sir Hendry Wood’s Concerts; worked for the London Opera Centre and recorded several violin recitals for the BBC Overseas Service. Subsequently, he was awarded a conducting scholarship by the Federal Republic of Germany to study advance conducting.

Instead of furthering his career abroad, he decided to return to Malaysia and he began to promote and develop orchestral music ever since. In 1978, he was appointed by the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports to establish the National Music Camp and served as the music director. In addition, he was appointed the principal conductor of the 1st ASEAN Youth Music Workshop in 1980. In 1991, he was also appointed as the advisor and the conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra.

In 1980, Dato’ Woon founded the Penang Symphony Society and served as its President and Music Director. Through the Society, he has contributed towards the rise of orchestral music in Penang and Malaysia. He has also nurtured thousands of talented musicians, who are now established musicians in academics and performances, furthering the initiatives of promoting orchestral music locally and worldwide in many countries. Today, the Society houses the Penang Symphony Orchestra, Penang Wind Orchestra and Penang Junior Orchestra. Over the years, Dato’ Woon has led these orchestras to perform in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

As a globally respected musician, he has been invited as a guest conductor to perform in China, Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Philippines and USA; as well as an adjudicator in the International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians Festival and the International Nier Violin Competition.

He has received many awards for his contributions in music and culture. He has received the Australia’s Oversea Culture Award, the Schubert Medal Award by the Vienna City, the Anugerah Karyawar Seni Musik (Best Director of Music), the Asia-Pacific Cultural Industry Exhibition by China, the Cultural Award in Music, the Lifetime Achievement Award, to name a few.

“我想证明一个人在追求音乐的路途上永远不会太迟。事实上，世界上许多优秀的指挥家一直活跃至80或90岁。”

拿督温文京指挥是一位杰出的演奏家、教育家，也是马来西亚最资深的指挥。在英国的时候，他参与了国际牛津巴赫音乐节, 年度亨德利伍德爵士音乐会；也曾在伦敦歌剧院工作，并为BBC海外服务部录制了几首小提琴演奏会。随后，他荣获德意志联邦共和国奖学金，以专研高级指挥课程。

以其在国外进一步发展自己的职业生涯，他决定回国推广和发展交响乐。在1978年，他被文化、青年和体育部任命开创全国音乐营，并担任其音乐总监。此外，他还被任命为1980年第一届东盟青年音乐会的首席指挥。1991年，他也被任命为国家交响乐团的顾问和指挥。

1980年，拿督温文京创立了槟州交响乐团协会，并担任其主席和音乐总监。通过该协会，他为槟城和马来西亚的交响乐兴起做出了极大的贡献。他还培养了数千名才华横溢的音乐家，各自成为学术界和表演界的知名音乐家，再延续进推广本地和全世界交响乐的重任。今天，槟州交响乐团协会设有槟州交响乐团，槟城吹管乐团和槟州少青交响乐团。多年来，拿督温文京带领这些乐团在澳大利亚，中国，香港，日本，新加坡，韩国，台湾和泰国演出。

作为一位受国际受尊敬的音乐家，他受邀担任客座指挥，在中国，德国，印度尼西亚，马来西亚，新加坡，台湾，泰国，菲律宾和美国演出; 也受邀当国际莫扎特青年音乐家比赛和国际尼尔小提琴比赛的评审员。

他在音乐和文化界的贡献，让他获得了许多奖项。他曾获得澳大利亚海外文化奖，维也纳市舒伯特奖章，音乐艺术奖（最佳音乐总监），中国亚太文化产业展，音乐文化奖，终身成就奖等等。