One of Canada’s most exciting young pianists, Avan Yu achieved international recognition when he triumphed at the Sydney International Piano Competition in 2012, winning First Prize along with nine special awards. Hailed as a “pianistic force with an astonishing sensitivity far beyond his years”, Avan Yu has appeared as soloist with orchestras and conductors around the world, including Rafael Fruehbeck de Burgos and the Dresden Philharmonic, Pinchas Zukerman and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, and Christian Arming and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Morocco Philharmonic, Real Filharmonica de Galicia, Slovak Radio Orchestra, Victoria Symphony, Windsor Symphony, and Nova Scotia Symphony Orchestra.

In recital, Avan has performed at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Salle Cortot in Paris, and the Nacional Auditorio de Música in Madrid. He is an avid chamber musician and has collaborated with celebrated musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma, Cuarteto Casals, Armida Quartett, Johannes Moser, and Geoff Nuttall.

Born in Hong Kong, Avan moved at the age of nine to Vancouver with his family. He studied with Kenneth Broadway and Ralph Markham in Vancouver, before moving to Berlin to study with Klaus Hellwig at the Berlin University of the Arts.

Avan won the Gold Medal at the Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of seventeen, and the Silver Medal and People's Choice Award at the Santander International Piano Competition in 2008. His performances have been broadcast on WQXR Radio in New York, Bayerischer Rundfunk, the CBC, the Australian Broadcasting Network, China Central Television and Radio, Radiotelevisión Española, Radio Nacional de España, the NDR Kultur Hamburg and the Südwestrundfunk. He has just recorded a CD of Liszt/Schubert Transcriptions for NAXOS which was released in April 2015.