A Beethoven in the making, Wong Kah Chun is a music conductor with almost unparalleled amounts of success. In 2016, he became the first Asian to win the prestigious international Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition. In 2018, he achieved another first as the first Asian chief conductor of Germany's Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra. He was also conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his achievements and contributions to Singaporean-German cultural relations and for spreading German music abroad. In September 2023, he will begin a new role as chief conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.