SOPHIA YAN

Sophia Yan is a proud alumnus of Dr. Lam’s studio, having studied with her sin age 8 until she entered Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music. She earned a B.Mus in piano performance with Robert Shannon and a B.A. in English, graduating with honors in 2009.

She has performed extensively around the world including at Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Steinway Hall, France’s Fontainebleau Chateau and the Hong Kong Arts Centre. While studying with Dr. Lam, she was a three-time First Prize winner of the Steinway Society Competition and has also won prizes at the New York International Piano, International Young Artist Piano in Washington, and Music Teachers National Association competitions. Other prizes won while in college are First Prize of Princeton Piano Festival and International Concert Alliance. As an advocate of contemporary music, Sophia has premiered over a hundred new works and enjoys ongoing collaborations with living composers. She has performed with the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble and performs regularly on the Vox Novus "Composer's Voice" series in New York. She has further worked with Vox Novus to commission pieces for world premieres in New York and Hong Kong. In 2014, Sophia co-founded an experimental chamber group, Western District, known for its imaginative programming within and outside of classical music. The ensemble has sold out Hong Kong's hottest venues and performed to critical acclaim.

Sophia is grateful to her teachers Dr. Lam, Robert Shannon, Robert Durso and Sylvia Henry for always encouraging and inspiring her music. In addition to being a pianist, Sophia is an award-winning foreign correspondent, currently based in Beijing, where she leads China coverage for the Telegraph and frequently appears on the BBC. She is a former correspondent with CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg, and has been based in Hong Kong, Washington D.C., Honolulu and Tokyo.