Welcome
As a child, Byron Au Yong found solace in drawing mazes and singing with trees. This evolved into a lifelong practice of composing immersive musical experiences in collaboration with various communities. For nearly 30 years, his playful events and installations have invited audiences to embark on extraordinary journeys, from intimate chamber concerts to expansive site-responsive performances.
Engage with his work for wonder and well-being in our changing world. Continue scrolling or click to learn more about Byron Au Yong.
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Au Yong’s Music
Resonates with global Asian communities through projects such as Stuck Elevator.
Addresses climate challenges with projects such as Forest Aeternam and Turbine.
Expands the classical canon with Piano Concerto—Houston and Occupy Orchestra.
Press play to listen to samples…
Impactful
Multimodal experiences provide numerous access points to embrace intimacy and spectacle for healing and civic engagement. An example includes The Ones, a choral forum for local participants to recover from tragedy and prevent gun violence.
Innovative
Inherited practices connect with current realities. Example include The Truer History of the Chan Family and Farewell: A Fantastical Contemplation on America’s Relationship with China.
Transformative
Projects touch audiences through learning and making with artists, educators, funders, presenters, scientists, and technologists. Visit Au Yong’s Portfolio for highlights and a list of works.
Want to discuss a commission or project? Contact Byron Au Yong.
Stuck Elevator | Opera Grand Rapids and San José State University in 2026
The Ones, a.k.a. (Be)longing, a.k.a. Trigger, about coming of age in an age of guns
Activist Songbook, to counteract hate and energize movements
Turbine, for moving choir along the water
Forest Aeternam (musical requiem in development)
Piano Concerto—Houston, installation for 11 pianists
The Orphan of Zhao 趙氏孤兒, music for theater
Farewell: A Fantastical Contemplation on America’s Relationship with China
Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas, for hiking singers and percussionists
Byron Au Yong collaborates across cultures in places from alleyway puddles to Confucian temples.
This includes a network of creatives and institutions who transform collective imagination into enduring echoes and shared meaning.
The Ensemble
Storytellers, Visionaries, and Architects of Movement.
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Directors & Playwrights: Roger Benington, Charlotte Brathwaite, Eugenie Chan, Christopher Chen, Bret Fetzer, Jessica Heidt, John Hoomes, Aaron Jafferis, Carola Luther, Pam McKinnon, Johamy Morales, Carey Perloff, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Eric Ting, Chay Yew
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Choreographers: Donald Byrd, Mew Chang-Tsing, Michelle Fujii, Marianne Kim, Archana Kumar, Swee Keong Lee, Chiao-Ping Li, Erica Rebollar, Leah Stein, Edisa Weeks, Olivier Wevers, Ying Zhou, Norah Zuniga Shaw
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Media & Other Artists: James Q. Chan, Susan Han, Susie J. Lee, Chishan Lin, Randy Moss, Matthew Offenbacher, John D. Pai, Soyoung Shin
The Support & The Stages
Institutions, Commissioners, and Sustaining Communities.
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Presenters include 4Culture Touring Arts Roster, American Conservatory Theater, Arts Emerson, Bellevue Arts Museum, Bumbershoot Festival of the Arts, Dixon Place, Ernest Bloch Music Festival, Fukuoka Gendai Hōgaku Festival, Hawai’i Opera, Hochschule für Musik und Theater, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Jack Straw Productions, La Jolla Playhouse, Montalvo Arts Center, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Stanford Chamber Chorale, Vancouver Folk Music Festival.
Producers include American Conservatory Theater, ArKtype, Eugenie Chan Theater Projects, Knoxville Opera, Li Chiao-Ping Dance, Livable Futures, Nashville Opera, Northwest Asian American Theatre, Octopus Theatricals, Opera Grand Rapids, San José State University.
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Commissions from Asian Arts Initiative, Azbri Productions, CalShakes, Chicago Composers Orchestra, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts, Earplay, Frye Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, International Festival of Arts & Ideas, Jeonju Sanjo Festival, Leah Stein Dance Co. and Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Moss Arts Center, Nonsequitar, Ōn Ensemble, Portland Taiko, Seattle Art Museum, Spectrum Dance Theater, The Esoterics, Whim W’him.
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Awards from 4Culture, Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, CityArtists, Creative Capital, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Edgerton Foundation, Fukuoka Gendai Hogaku Festival, Jack Straw Productions, Nashville Scene, New Music USA, Seattle Arts Commission, William Penn Foundation.
Grants from Aaron Copland Fund, American Composers Forum, Darmstadt Institute Stipendpreis, Durfee Foundation, MAP Fund, McKnight Foundation, Meet the Composer, National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts.
Fellowships from Artist Trust, Ford Foundation, Jesuit Foundation, SOZO Media, Sundance Institute / Time Warner Foundation.
Along with his work as a composer, Au Yong is an Associate Professor and Director of Arts Leadership Programs at Seattle University, where he mentors and researches the creative economy and placemaking.
Thanks for visiting and connect at an Event.
In the White Frame
Union Station, Seattle WA