Deemed a “prodigy, [running] the emotional gamut from brooding introspection to manic exuberance” (San Francisco Examiner) and a “gifted musician and serious artist” (Ruth Slenczynska), American pianist Andrew J. Yang has an active international performance career across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Born and raised in California (U.S.A.), Yang has since 2020 resided in Iceland, where he has established himself as one of the most promising pianists in the country. For three years he lived in Patreksfjörður, a beautiful small village of 700 inhabitants in the remote Westfjords region of Iceland, five hours from the city. After a successful debut at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík, the most-read newspaper at the time in Iceland, Fréttablaðið, remarked: “Yang’s playing was confident and precise, full of emotion with amazing musical high points. Small nuances were beautifully executed - the keystrokes were refined, even dreamy.” Yang is the founder and artistic director of the International Westfjords Piano Festival and Iceland Piano Festival.

 

Yang won top prizes at the 30th International FLAME Piano Competition (Paris) and at the 5th Metropolitan International Piano Competition (New York City). Yang has also received awards from the Los Angeles International Liszt Piano Competition, Thaviu-Issac Piano Competition, Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition, among others. Yang has also received the Eyrarrósin Encouragement Award from First Lady of Iceland, Eliza Reid, and the “White Rose” Medal of Honor for musical excellence from President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö. Recent concerts include solo recitals at the Mozarthaus, Harpa Concert Hall, Musiikkitalo, Judaica Foundation in Krakow, Murphy Recital Hall, Hoheikan, and performances at most of the major New York venues including Carnegie Hall, Victor Borge Hall, and the Museum of Modern Art.

 

Yang’s most important teachers are the late Dr. William Wellborn, with whom he studied from childhood in 2007 until his passing in 2023, and Antoinette Perry. He has also studied with and been mentored by Ruth Slenczynska, Adam Wibrowski, James Giles, Dang Thai Son, and Robert McDonald. Yang received both a B.A. in Economics and B.M. in Piano Performance from Northwestern University. Upon graduation with an M.M. in Piano Performance from Mannes School of Music, he received the Steinway & Sons Award, a distinction given to the most outstanding graduating pianist. Yang then spent three years as a full-tuition scholarship D.M.A. doctoral student at USC Thornton School of Music (concurrently with living in Patreksfjörður), where also taught undergraduate and graduate piano major students as one of the two chosen Studio T.A.’s.

 

A former competitive athlete in badminton, track & field, and basketball, Yang also pursued an amateur boxing career, training out of the legendary John's Boxing Gym in the Bronx, NY. He trained mixed martial arts (MMA) under head coach Justen Hamilton at Modern Martial Arts in Pasadena, California. Yang also plays violin and guitar and is passionate about creating other genres of music, cooking, literature, and travelling. Yang is currently on the piano faculty at Tónlistarskólinn í Grafarvogi and Tónskóli Sigursveins. He is also on the artist faculty at Krakow Piano Summer since 2023.