Derrick Wang

Last updated
Derrick Wang
Education
Occupations
  • Composer
  • writer
Notable credit
Website https://www.derrickwang.com

Derrick Wang is an American composer and writer.

Education

Wang graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College, Harvard University, where he composed works including two musicals for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. [1] [2] He received a master's degree from the Yale School of Music. [1]

Contents

Works

Wang came to international attention as the composer and librettist of Scalia/Ginsburg , the opera about United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. [3] [4] [5] Both justices wrote forewords to Wang's libretto. [6] One chapter of Ginsburg's 2016 book My Own Words consists of excerpts from the libretto, [7] [8] narrated and performed by Wang in the audiobook. [9] In 2022, Justice Ginsburg's copy of the Scalia/Ginsburg libretto with a one-page autograph manuscript of her handwritten notes was sold at auction for over US$10,000. [10] [11]

In 2024, Opera Delaware premiered Wang's new completion of the opera Turandot , praised as "adept," "respectful," and "seamless." [12] [13] [14]

Wang's musical drama Fearless, inspired by the life of Women Airforce Service Pilot Hazel Ying Lee, receives its world premiere at Opera Delaware in 2025. [15] [16] [17]

Wang, a musical dramatist and forensic musicologist, teaches music and law at Johns Hopkins University. [12] [18] [19]

References

  1. 1 2 Rosen, Jeffrey (2014-09-28). "Ruth Bader Ginsburg Is an American Hero". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  2. Bravin, Jess (2015-07-13). "Justice Ginsburg's Spin on a Supreme Opera, 'Scalia/Ginsburg'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  3. Langer, Emily (2013-10-04). "Derrick Wang Discusses 'Scalia/Ginsburg,' His Opera about the Supreme Court Justices". Washington Post. pp. E5. ISSN   0190-8286.
  4. "Composing the Law: An Interview with Derrick Wang, Creator of the Scalia/Ginsburg Opera". American Bar Association. 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  5. Heil, Emily (2015-07-20). "'Scalia/Ginsburg' opera draws VIPs of the legal world". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286.
  6. Scalia, Antonin; Ginsburg, Ruth Bader (2015). "Prefaces to Scalia/Ginsburg: A (Gentle) Parody of Operatic Proportions". The Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts. 38 (2): 237. doi:10.7916/jla.v38i2.2118. ISSN   2161-9271.
  7. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader (2016). My Own Words. Hartnett, Mary; Williams, Wendy W. (1st ed.). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. pp. 43–55, 341–350. ISBN   978-1-5011-4524-7. OCLC   946693458.
  8. Chemerinsky, Erwin (2016-11-08). "Book Review: My Own Words". Washington Independent Review of Books. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  9. Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, My Own Words [audiobook], Hartnett, Mary; Williams, Wendy; Lavin, Linda, Disc 2, Track 3, ISBN   978-1-5082-2628-4, OCLC   949219733
  10. Tarmy, James (2022-01-04). "Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Private Library Is Coming to Auction". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  11. "The Library of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg / Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Autograph Notes on Opera and Law". Bonhams. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  12. 1 2 Obenreder, Gail (2024-05-21). "OperaDelaware presents Puccini's Turandot". Broad Street Review. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  13. Silverman, Mike (2024-05-08). "Washington Opera offers new ending to Puccini's final work". AP News. Retrieved 2024-06-05.
  14. Brodeur, Michael Andor (2024-05-13). "Washington National Opera's new 'Turandot' gets a refreshing finale". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  15. "OperaDelaware presents world premiere of 'Fearless,' a new American opera by Derrick Wang". The News Journal. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  16. "Arts Playlist: Pioneering WWII aviator takes center stage in OperaDelaware's world premiere of 'Fearless'". Delaware First Media. Retrieved 2025-05-12.
  17. S12 E48: Delaware State of the Arts - OperaDelaware and Derrick Wang's FEARLESS - Delaware State of the Arts Podcast. 2025-05-05. Retrieved 2025-05-12 via destateofthearts.buzzsprout.com.
  18. "Derrick Wang Joins Peabody Faculty". Peabody Magazine. 2017-06-27. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  19. Cruickshank, Saralyn (2020-11-06). "Forging friendships across political divides". The Hub. Retrieved 2020-11-06.