Victoria Yuan is a Canadian pianist, aspiring music cognition researcher, and will soon be a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music (BMus 2023). She studies piano in the studio of Dr. Lisa Tahara and is pursuing her Bachelor of Music in Classical Comprehensive Studies, with a Minor in Psychology and Certificates in Health Applications in Music, Popular Music Studies and Ethnomusicology, and Piano Pedagogy. Victoria is the proud recipient of the Arthur Plettner Scholarship (2022, 2020) and was awarded the recognition of University of Toronto Scholar (2019).
Beginning in September 2023, Victoria will pursue a Master of Arts in Music and Health Sciences at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Dr. Michael Thaut. She is focusing her research on the interdisciplinary fields bridging music, psychology, neuroscience, and technology. Victoria has presented twice at the Faculty of Music Undergraduate Research Showcase, with her original research project recently winning Third Prize (2023).
Victoria actively performs solo, collaborative, and ensemble works. Selected highlights include performances in the annual Piano Fête!, at the Faculty of Music Welcome Concert 2022, at the Toronto Kiwanis Music Festival, and in her piano duo with Sakurako Jayne Abe since 2019. She performed as a keyboardist in the musicals Acepto (I Do) (2023, English-language and Canadian premiere), Into the Woods (2023), and High School Musical on Stage! (2022). Victoria has performed as a collaborative pianist with instrumentalists and vocalists, and has previously performed in choirs, concert bands, orchestras, and jazz ensembles. She has directed, curated, and performed in collaborative music projects, including SFMW’s Magic of Christmas (2022), Hibiki Project’s Piano Collaboration (2022), and Harmonies of Pianists Everywhere (H.O.P.E. Project) (2020).
Victoria is an Artistic Executive at Students for Music and Wellness, a piano instructor and Executive at Musical Minds Community Outreach, and the Vice-President Internal of the Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association. Victoria forges an interdisciplinary path through music. She is passionate about exploring diverse musical cultures, as well as sharing the joy and connection music can bring through research, performance, outreach, and education. Victoria is very excited to be collaborating again with the Hibiki Project!
Etupirka・エトピリカ (Taro Hakase・葉加瀬太郎)
Piano Collaborators x Hibiki
Inspired by the H.O.P.E. Project
“Our piano collaboration brings together seven fellow pianists performing our rendition of the orchestral piece Etupirka (エトピリカ), composed by Taro Hakase (葉加瀬太郎) and arranged for piano by Masahiro Saito (斎藤雅広). In our recorded performance, each pianist’s performance has been stitched together to create a flowing, complete piece that showcases both the beauty of the music and each performer’s interpretation.
The video concept was inspired by the H.O.P.E. Project (Instagram: @hopepianoorg), an international collaborative piano project bringing together pianists from around the world to create recorded performances. The H.O.P.E. Project was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, and helped instil unity through music during a challenging time. I had the opportunity to participate in two H.O.P.E. Project performances during the summer of 2020.
Joining forces with the Hibiki Project, I was inspired to create a piano collaboration video featuring Japanese music and composers. Our performance strives to reflect values of togetherness, joy, and hopefully bring you a moment of tranquility as you listen/watch. Michelle, Sunny, Vivian, Jonah, Yu-Pin, Jayne, Chihiro, and I are so excited to share our music and video with you. We hope you enjoy our virtual collaborative performance of Taro Hakase’s Etupirka! ”
Meet our Piano Collaborators…
Vivian Kwok
Yu-Pin Lai
Jonah Nung
Michelle Wang
Sunny Zhai
Sakurako Jayne Abe
TEMC Musical Mosaic
Victoria Yuan x Hibiki
四手連弾のための組曲：日本の四季 より // Selections from Piano Suite “The Four Seasons of Japan” for Four Hands
Composer: 中田喜直・Yoshinao Nakada (1923-2000)
VI - 冬がきて雪が降りはじめ、氷の世界に、やがて春の日差しが // Winter has come, snow began to fall, and it froze over. Before long will be the sunshine of spring
I - 春がきて、桜が咲いて // Spring has come and cherry blossoms Bloomed