After months of research and composing, Yu-Hui finished a new work titled “Accidental Hero”, a mini music drama based on the extraordinary story of Mary Jayne Gold (1909-1997). An heiress from Evanston, Illinois, Mary Jayne Gold was an independent-minded woman flying her own airplane around Europe who ended up involved in Varian Fry’s “Emergency Rescue Committee” in Marseille between 1940-41. Together they helped thousands of artists and intellectuals, mostly political activists and Jewish descents, escaped Nazi-occupied Europe. Commissioned by Ensemble Télémaque and its director, Raoul Lay, “Accidental Hero” is scored for flute/piccolo, clarinet, trumpet, accordion, percussion, violin, cello, soprano, and an actor. It is scheduled to receive its U.S. premiere in Spring 2026 and an European premiere in Marseille during the fall of the same year.
Yu-Hui was a guest composer at Etchings Festival 2025 between August 3-9, which took place at the Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Northampton, Massachusetts. Also in the festival were guest composers Melinda Wagner, Kate Soper, David Sanford, and Maxwell Dulaney, along with guest musicians Dan Lippel (guitar) and Philipp Staüdlin (saxophones). Since 2009, Etchings is a yearly music festival directed by composer John Aylward that supports emerging composers, who have their works performed by the ECCE ensemble and have the opportunity to interact with guest composers during the festival.
Yu-Hui is awarded a Fromm 2024 Commission prize to compose a new work for Fredaissance, a trio based in SUNY Fredonia: Barry Crawford (flutes), Laura Koepke (bassoon) and I-Fei Chen-Markham (piano). This is Yu-Hui’s second Fromm commission. She received her first Fromm commission in 2008, for which she composed “Pixelandia” for the Boston Modern Orchestra Project.
Yu-Hui's "Mind Stretch" for piano solo (2021) is included in pianist Jihye Chang's upcoming Boston Etudes CD album, which is set to be released on October 18, 2024, by New Focus Recordings. Jihye's commanding and brilliant performance perfectly showcases Mind Stretch'svirtuosity and agility. Also on this album are works by William David Cooper, Marti Epstein, Eun Young Lee, John McDonald, Stratis Minakakis, Ketty Nez, and Dan VanHassel.
Yu-Hui’s latest orchestral piece “Hawking Radiation” will be premiered by Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) on May 25 at Jordan Hall in Boston. Also on the program are pieces by Leonard Bernstein, Harold Shapero, and Henri Lazarof. Conceived when the first black hole image was released in 2019, and completed during the time when the Covid pandemic was at its height, “Hawking Radiation” is a search for hope. Hope that human goodness will prevail when the world is in turmoil, just like the glowing light surrounding the darkest black hole.
Yu-Hui’s new “Mind Like Water” album is set to be officially released on January 19, 2024, under the New Focus Recordings label. This album showcases four chamber/solo works that focus on the dialogues between a composer and her work, between different musical ideas, and between a soloist and her instrument. The recording features performances by the Lydian String Quartet, Dinosaur Annex Music Ensemble, Composers Conference Ensemble, and cellist Rhonda Rider. See New Focus Recordings website for more information.
Volti, a professional vocal ensemble based in San Francisco, revisited Yu-Hui’s “Being: Two Collins Songs” in a series of concerts between 11/3 – 11/5, 2023, in the Bay Area as part of the California Festival: A Celebration of New Music. Commissioned and premiered by Volti in 2010, “Being: Two Collins Songs” is an a cappella chamber choir piece that sets two poems written by former Poet Laureate Billy Collins – “The Night House” and “Shoveling Snow with Buddha”. This piece was subsequently included in Volti’s “House of Voices” CD album, released by Innova Recordings in 2012.
Eminent clarinetist Charles Neidich is performing Yu-Hui’s “Three Fantasias” at the Eslite Performance Hall in Taipei on November 13, 2022, as part of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra’s chamber music concert series. Also on the program is his own composition “Firefly”, plus chamber pieces by Prokofiev and Brahms (with members of Taipei Symphony Orchestra). This concert was initially cancelled/postponed during the pandemic.
Yu-Hui’s new work “Resurfacing”, a commission from Winsor Music, received its premiere on October 28, 2022, at the beautiful Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA. Written for oboe, bass clarinet, violin, and cello, “Resurfacing” is about trying to find and redefine normalcy amid the residual shadow of the Covid pandemic. Click here for the review of the concert from the Boston Musical Intelligencer.
“Germinate” received its west coast premiere in October 2022 at the beautiful Ann E. Pitzer Center, UC Davis. The Empyrean Ensemble, directed by composer Sam Nichols, gave a superb performance under the baton of conductor Matilda Hofman. Yu-Hui was also invited to give a talk in UCD’s Valente Lecture series.
Award-winning composer Yu-Hui Chang has written a wide range of music that compels and resonates with professional musicians and audiences alike.
Her music is characterized by energy, precision, ingenious effects, and vibrant colors – all in the pursuit of a deep connection with humanity. She strives to break through cultural and stylistic boundaries, and to take an inclusive view of musical diversity. This attitude is manifested in the multifaceted quality of her compositional output, and the stylistic fluidity in her writing.
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