BIOGRAPHY
Douglas Tang is an award-winning conductor, keyboardist and coach whose career has spanned Europe, Asia, the United States, and Australia. Internationally recognised for his versatility, he has performed and recorded across three continents while building a reputation for artistic excellence, technical prowess and an unwavering commitment to musicianship and the English choral tradition.
Born in Hong Kong, Douglas was educated at a Swiss-German international school before winning a scholarship to study in England. He attended Harrow School and Dulwich College, where he distinguished himself as both a pianist and flautist, achieving diplomas on both instruments at an early age. Although originally intending to pursue conservatoire study on piano and flute, he took up the organ comparatively late, winning an organ scholarship to the University of Cambridge, where he studied music and served as Organ Scholar of the world-renowned Choir of King's College, Cambridge.
Douglas has held several prestigious musical appointments, including Assistant Director of Music at St Mary's Cathedral Sydney, Chapel Organist of the Old Royal Naval College Greenwich, and Organ Scholar of Hereford Cathedral. He has also worked extensively as an organ and vocal consultant for many of London's leading churches and choir, while advising institutions including Winchester Cathedral, Chester Cathedral and Rochester Cathedral. He is currently the Director of Music at St Pancras New Church.
As a conductor, Douglas has worked extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, directing orchestras, opera companies, chamber choirs, cathedral choirs, consorts and choral societies. His projects are eclectic - ranging from productions of Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and conducting the Choir of Exeter College Oxford at the Tower of London, to ‘Christmas with the Stars’ at the Royal Albert Hall and conducting, arranging, and playing for Malcolm Young’s funeral. His recording work has also included projects for Disney, Marvel, the BBC, Hyperion, and Willowhayne.
Alongside his conducting career, Douglas is an accomplished keyboardist, collaborative pianist and répétiteur; having been involved with opera, art song and historically informed performance. He has worked for many of Britain's foremost orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, London Sinfonietta and Aurora Orchestra. As a continuo player, he has performed with the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and the London Mozart Players. He was recently appointed official accompanist of the Llangollen Eisteddfod – the world famous choral festival credited to starting Luciano Pavarotti’s career.
His international performing career has taken him to many of the world's leading venues, including the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Albert Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St Paul's Cathedral, Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Esplanade Singapore, Washington National Cathedral and Prague Cathedral. He has built an extensive discography and has broadcast to millions worldwide on television and radio. His CD ‘The Hereford Experience’ received critical acclaim, being praised for its "alert musicianship, swagger, glorious vitality, fluency and clarity," while reviewers highlighted performances that brought the music "to life" through "expressive and exciting playing" demonstrating "a clear mastery of technique."
A passionate advocate for musical education, Douglas has taught and coached conducting, opera, chamber music, musicianship, piano and organ at many of the United Kingdom's leading conservatoires, including the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music & Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. He has also taught for Oundle for Organists, the Royal College of Organists, Eton Choral Courses and numerous professional development programmes, coaching musicians at every stage of their careers.
Douglas is also recognised as an interpreter of contemporary repertoire, having premiered and performed works by composers including Cecilia McDowall, Robin Holloway, Graham Fitkin, Dobrinka Tabakova, Francis Pott, and Francis Grier. He is a multiple prize-winner, including the Brian Runnett Prize and Musica Britannica's Sir Anthony Lewis Memorial Prize.
Today, Douglas continues to devote himself to conducting, performance and teaching through a carefully selected portfolio of artistic projects – preferring to champion undervalued repertoire and more ‘academic’ programs over extensive marketing and exposure. He remains committed to eschewing the highest standards of musicianship, and to preserving and developing the rich traditions of the English choral tradition, and the wider world of classical music for future generations.