Pianist/composer Julian Yu was born in Shanghai , China and started to study the piano at an early age and soon displayed special talents for music.
His remarkable piano performance earned him a place in China ' s prestigious Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where he studied under Da-Chun Yu. He was the first prize-winner of Shanghai Competition for Young Pianists, a contest that drew first-class young contestants from the city and other parts of the country. He was also a prize winner in the Hong-Kong International Competition.

At the age of 15, he performed the Rachmaninoff 3 rd Piano Concerto with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. For his distinguished records, the Ministry of Culture of China awarded him the Bao-Gang Artistic Award, an honor that only goes to a select few.

In 1994 Mr. Yu ' s burgeoning talents caught the eye of the Manhattan School of Music, who offered him full scholarship. Embarking upon a new pursuit of his music profession, Mr. Yu came to the Big Apple and joined the Manhattan School of Music to continue his training under Solomon Mikowsky and Donn-Alexandre Feder. In 1999 he received his bachelor ' s degree of music and two years later, in 2001, he received his master ' s degree of music, both from the Manhattan School of music.

Mr. Yu was the recipient of the Elva Van Gelder Memorial Award and Levy Blanche Award. He was the 1 st prize winner of MTL Piano Competition at Carnegie Hall, and at Dora Zaslavsky Koch Competition. He was also a prize winner in the Berkley Piano Competition.

As a soloist, Julian Yu has performed with seven symphony orchestras in Spain , United States , Korea , and China under ranking conductors Zdenek Macal, Lawrence Smith, Noorman Widjaja, Jung-Oh Park , and Guo-Yong Zhang. Mr. Yu has recorded and published three CDs. The most recent on, Winter Sonata, has just been released by YBM, the largest Korean recording label. Mr.

Yu is also a composer of the new age genre. His music is filled with warmth and sentimentalism. There is intensity beneath tranquility; there a lively visual imagery blended with the musical rendition; there is depth and sophistication behind the elegance and simplicity.

All his inspirations and ideas spring from true love stories, rendering his music more genuine and heartfelt. His strong background as a classical pianist allows him to play any music with great sensibility and nuance, giving a profound musical and emotional appeal. He is, in CODA Magazine ' s words, “ redefining new-age music with passion and love ”