Photo: Malcolm Crowther

Raymond Yiu (b. 1973) is a composer and jazz pianist. Born in Hong Kong, he came to England in 1990 and started piano lessons at the age of four. He began writing music as a teenager, and took up composing again while he was studying at Imperial College.

As a composer, Raymond is mostly self-taught. He has studied composition privately with Graham Williams, and received informal consultations from several composers including Julian Anderson, Lukas Foss, David Matthews and David Sawer. His article on Foss' recent works appeared in the July 2002 issue of Tempo magazine.

Distance of the Moon was conducted by Lukas Foss at the Bridgehampton Music Festival 2001. Three of his works have been shortlisted by the spnm: Tranced Summer-Night, Tranced and Calendar of Tolerable Inventions from Around the World, which was performed by Lontano in 2002, and was subsequently broadcast by BBC Radio 3. It was also chosen by Sir Harrison Birtwistle for performance at the 2003 Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival with the London Sinfonietta. Tranced was performed by the Northern Sinfonia at the 2003 Bath Festival and was presented as a dance piece at the Österreichisches Theatermuseum, Vienna, with choreography by Bernd Bienert.

Beyond the Glass, performed and recorded for broadcast by the BBC Singers, was nominated for the British Composer Awards 2004. A Whorl of Knowings Dim and Bright was premièred by Andrew Watts at the Cheltenham Music Festival 2004, followed by performances at the Perth International Festival and Berliner Festspiele. Night Shanghai was first performed by Lontano as part of La Linea Festival 2005 in London, with subsequent performances by Concorde Ensemble and Chroma and Ensemble 10/10.

The Original Chinese Conjuror, a musical diversion with libretto by Lee Warren, has been commissioned by Aldeburgh Almeida Opera (with the support of Genesis Foundation) for the 2006 Aldeburgh Festival and the Almeida Opera Season.

2008 saw the premières of Faerie Tales, a Celebrating English Song commission for counter-tenor Iestyn Morris and tenor Nicolas Mulroy, and Xocolatl, written for the London Symphony Orchestra as part of the 2008 Panufink Young Composer Scheme. Works in progress include a piano quintet for Lang Lang and the Silk String Quartet, and a second opera with a libretto by Lee Warren under the auspices of OperaGenesis.

He is the recipient of spnm 2003 George Butterworth Award, and is currently represented by the bmic's New Voices scheme.