Phoon Yu

Organist and composer Phoon Yu is active both in Singapore and in the United States. He has played previously as a soloist in the 2015/2016, 2017/2018, and 2018/2019 Victoria Concert Hall Organ Series, as well as abroad, having played in multiple other venues in Singapore, the Netherlands, and the United States. Recent concerts include his performances at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and Marble Collegiate Church in New York City, St. David’s Episcopal Church in Baltimore, as well as at St. Andrew’s Cathedral and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in Singapore.

Phoon Yu’s performance career as an organist is supplemented by his composing ability. Composition premieres of his include works for various solo instruments and chamber groups across various venues in Singapore, China, and the United States. Notable premieres include his solo piano piece Prelude (Chorale Prelude on ‘Singapura, Oh Singapura’) (2013), his chamber work Elegy for Violin, Piano and String Quartet (2014), three solo organ works Prelude on ‘Lenggang Kangkung’, Toccata on ‘Singapura, Oh Singapura’ (2015) and Prelude and Fugue on Wynne’s Theme (2017), his arrangements of Munnaeru Vaaliba and Home (2015) for the inaugural gala concert of the group ‘Singapore Sounds’, his Sonatina for Dizi Quintet (2016) for the Dicapella Dizi Ensemble, his Piece for Organ and Trumpet (2017), and his arrangement for about two hundred violinists for the inaugural World Strings Day organized by Tong Ming Xi Gallery (2019).

Phoon Yu is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance at The Julliard School as a C. V. Starr Doctoral Fellow under the tutelage of Paul Jacobs. Previously, he did his Bachelors of Music in music composition at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music under full scholarship, participating during his undergraduate studies in the prestigious partnership between the Conservatory and the Peabody Institute as a member of their Joint Degree Programme. He then did his Masters of Music in organ performance at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, being awarded the Bruce R. Eicher prize at the conclusion of his studies. His teachers include Professor Donald Sutherland and Dr. Evelyn Lim (organ) and Associate Professor Ho Chee Kong and Dr. Oscar Bettison (composition). Phoon Yu has participated in organ masterclasses with Nigel Potts, Daniel Moult, Pavel Kohout, Ludger Lohmann, Olivier Latry, Ben van Oosten, Leo van Doeselaar, and Jean-Baptiste Robin, as well as composition workshops/masterclasses by Peter Sheppard-Skaerved, Koji Nakano, Aaron Cassidy, and Eric Watson.