Hong Kong-born British pianist Yau Cheng is an intuitive musician and experienced collaborative pianist. A dedicated educator, she is passionate about supporting singers in becoming the best musicians they can be. She is a Vocal Studies Tutor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where she also serves as a staff pianist and vocal coach. 

 

Yau holds a PGCert(HE) in Performance Teaching and is a Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA). As a pianist, she earned both her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in Piano Performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (USA). She then continued her studies at the Guildhall School, completing a Master of Music in Piano Accompaniment with distinction.

Since relocating to London, Yau has performed in the Purcell Room at Southbank Centre, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Bristol Beacon, City of London Festival, Winchester Chamber Music Festival and venues around the UK, collaborating with distinguished musicians including cellist Stefan Popov and harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet. Yau has worked extensively with the Vocal Departments at both Indiana University and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, accompanying lessons, masterclasses, auditions and recitals. She was a proud member of the Singing Hoosiers, Indiana University's Grammy-nominated touring show choir. In addition to her work with singers, she has collaborated with the studios of cellists Janos Starker, Stefan Popov and Helga Winold, violinists Jacqueline Ross and Mark Kaplan, harpist Susann McDonald, among others.

 

Maintaining a multifaceted career, Yau is also a professional music engraver and editor. Her work has been published by Schott, Mainz, and she has prepared new editions of several previously unpublished piano pieces by Lili Boulanger. She assisted pianist-composer Émile Naoumoff in archiving his concert career and contributed to the preparation of his book My Chronicles with Nadia Boulanger. Yau has served on the faculty of Indiana University’s Young Pianists Program, recorded for Naxos, and worked as an Adjunct Lecturer in undergraduate music theory and aural skills. She studied the harp with Professor Elzbieta Szmyt, and remains a keen art song sight-reader and enthusiastic piano duettist, with a secret passion for musical theatre.