Raymond Yong is a concert pianist, chamber musician and orchestral conductor. He studied piano performance and conducting at the University of Melbourne where his teachers were Stephen McIntyre (piano) and John Hopkins (conducting). He was the recipient of numerous university exhibitions and awards, and has been a finalist and prize winner in many of Australia’s most prestigious music competitions. The award of a German government grant in 2003 led to 3 years of music study in Germany.
Raymond Yong was a featured pianist at the 2008 Musica Viva Huntington Estate Festival, performing chamber music with the Tin Alley String Quartet and pianist Ian Munro. Other career highlights include piano concerto performances with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Queensland Orchestra, and recitals in UK, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia.
At the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, he conducted a concert version of Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale, directed local school children in a performance of the Toy Symphony with Orchestra Victoria, and performed an all Chopin piano recital. As an emerging young conductor, Raymond works with youth and amateur musicians, community ensembles, and students from the University of Melbourne. In 2009, he continues as Resident Conductor of the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra and works with groups such as the Stonnington Symphony Orchestra.