MAN-CHING DONALD YU

Man-Ching Donald Yu, Hong Kong born composer and pianist. The style of his recent music is characterized by amalgamation of post-minimalist and modernist traits; subtle transformation of various musical parameters in different suspended times and spaces is one of the important underlying principles in his recent works. His music is described by Fanfare Magazine as "forming an arresting and personal intermixing of tonal and atonal languages, with the musical colors and gestures of his native country infiltrating the mix." (2012)

Yu is quite prolific and his nearly two hundred compositions range from chamber, vocal, electroacoustic, and Chinese instrumental works to chamber opera, choral works, and symphonies. His music has been extensively performed at various international festivals and events in more than 20 countries with 50 cities throughout the North and South America, Europe, and Asia such as the 2022 Contrasts International Contemporary Music Festival, the International Review of Composers (Serbia), the EurAsia International Music Festival  (Yekaternburg Russia), the International Festival of Modern Art: Two Days and Two Nights of New Music, the International Kiev Music Fest, the International Spring Orchestra Festival (Malta), the 2015 Expo Milano (Italy),  and many others; his music has been performed by Lviv National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Lugansk Philharmonic, Chernivtsi Philharmonic, Uzhgorod Philharmonic with chorus, Opera Hong Kong Chorus with Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra, Icarus Ensemble (Italy), Senza Sforzando Ensemble (Ukraine), Duo Praxedis (Switzerland), Ensemble Dialog (Switzerland), Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra (U.S.), etc. His music is exclusively published by Donemus (Netherland) and Universal Edition (Austria), other publishers including Babelscores (France), Edizioni Sconfinarte (Italy), Helm & Baynov Verlag (Germany), Verlag 4'33'' (Germany), Scherzo Editions (Portugal), Zimbel Press (U.S.), Da Vinci Edition (Japan); most of his recordings are exclusively available at Donemus Records, and other labels include Phasma Music, Ablaze, Albany and Zimbel Records as well as Association New Music (Ukraine), etc. As a theorist, his theory papers were selected to present at various international music theory conferences in Serbia, Poland, and UK such as the 2015 Keele Music Analysis Conference, as well as published in scholarly book and music journals. As a lecturer, since 2007 Yu has taught music theory, musicology, and composition in various tertiary colleges in Hong Kong. As a pianist, he holds Licentiate diploma from Royal Schools of Music, as well as Super Soloist Performance Zertifikat from Wiener Musik Prüfungskommission. He has performed diverse repertoires ranging from concerto to his own music as a soloist or collaborative pianist, appearing on stages in Hong Kong, Macau, Serbia, Italy, Austria, Germany and United States including the 2007 International Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg. The interpretation of own music is described as "prowess at keyboard." (Fanfare). In 2018, he was served as an international jury member of the Osaka International Music Competition in Osaka Japan.

Yu earned a BM degree from Baylor University in 2004, studying piano performance with renowned pianist and artistic-in-residence Krassimira Jordan of the Russian piano school. In 2010, he earned a PhD in composition and music theory with the support of a full postgraduate research assistantship at Hong Kong Baptist University. He also studied composition with stipendium at the International Summer Academy Mozarteum Salzburg with a diploma in Austria in 2007 and holds Fellowship in composition from Trinity College of London; since 2007 he has received various awards and honors from different organizations including the ASCAP, Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Council, and the 2014 Newly Published Music Competition (U.S.) and others. His orchestral piece "Unraveling" was awarded gold double medal (Awards of Excellence) in two categories-Best Contemporary Classical and Composition of the 2022 Global Music Awards. His album "Surrealistic Soundscapes" (2012) was awarded the "Best Contemporary Classical Album" of the Clouzine International Music Awards in 2023 spring.