Dr. YANG Hongyul is a musician of many faces - pianist, composer, songwriter, bandleader, arranger and producer. He studied piano under the tutelage of the late Percy Smallfield. He holds the Licentiate of Royal Schools of Music (Distinction) in Piano Performance. He has given numerous solo and chamber recitals and participated in New Zealand national piano competitions including as finalist for Kerikeri National Piano Competition and as semi-finalist in Kapiti Coast National Piano Competition. As a concerto soloist, he has played with the Auckland Symphony Orchestra.

He has also studied composition from an early age with Dr Leonie Holmes and has written works for solo piano, chamber ensembles and orchestras. The winner of New Zealand Young Composer’s Competition, he has scored for films that have been selected for international film festivals including Puchon, Shanghai, New Zealand and for successful New Zealand web series “Flat3” and “Friday Night Bites.”

Hongyul is currently based in Melbourne, Australia, where he practices as a medical doctor in hospitals across regional Victoria in emergency and general medicine. He has engaged in music therapy for patients at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He plays in many successful bands, with genres ranging from jazz, blues, soul, R&B, Latin and African, playing in festivals and premier live music venues in and around Melbourne. Hongyul values improvisation and spontaneous collaboration as two most important elements in musical expression, which stems from his incredibly diverse background.