Our Mission
The Yike Academy of Music was launched with the vision to make classical music fun and accessible through creativity, community building, and premium training.
With over 30 years of pedagogical experience, Ms. Yan Yang founded the Yike Academy of Music in early 2021 together with her son, international concert pianist and Harvard graduate Tony Yike Yang, originally as an extension of her own private teaching studio in Toronto.
Since then, the school has blossomed into an engaging community, with much to offer. In addition to private 1-on-1 lessons, the Academy also hosts many concerts, master classes, and community events for students to share their music, while being active in their musical development.
With such a rich array and combination of experiences to share, the faculty at the Yike Academy of Music are determined to inspire a new generation of talent. It is our sole aim to provide the most fulfilling, well-rounded, and transformative classical music education to anyone eager to learn, whether they are children just starting out, hopefuls trying to pursue music for life, or hobbyists passionate about classical music.
So consider joining us in this mission to make classical music learning fun, relatable, and purposeful. Let us master the keys to success together!
Hailed by CBC Music as one of Canada’s finest young musicians, the Academy’s namesake Tony Yike Yang first rose to international acclaim at the age of 16 after becoming the youngest-ever laureate in the history of the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, winning the 5th prize in 2015. Additionally, Tony has also won prizes at the Van Cliburn, Gina Bachauer, Hilton Head, Cooper, and the Bosendorfer & Yamaha USASU International Piano Competitions.
As a sought-after soloist and pedagogue, Tony has since performed and given master classes in nearly 30 countries across Asia, North America, Europe, South America, and Africa. Among them, he has performed for royalty and dignitaries such as Her Royal Highness Camilla, the Queen Consort, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Polish President Andrzej Duda, to list a few.
In recent years, Tony has also served on the jury of numerous competitions, including the Canada International Piano Competition, Nordic International Piano Competition, Piano Island Festival Malaysia, the Hong Kong International Music Festival, and the Steinway Canada Young Artists Piano Competition. In this coming season, Tony will be on the jury for the Royal Conservatory of Music’s inaugural “Music Lights the Way” Festival Finals in Toronto, as well as the Golden Swan International Music Festival in Vancouver.
In 2018, Tony was appointed Youth Cultural Ambassador to the city of Guangzhou, and accepted a one-year position as an artistic tutor for Sun-Yat-Sen University. Two years later, Yang was also offered a three-year appointment as Music Consultant to the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Upon accepting these roles, Tony has been passionately committed to advancing and encouraging classical music education for youth all across China and abroad, making an effort to connect with young musicians wherever he performs.
Tony also holds a deep interest in the social influence of music. One of his most recent projects include collaboration with the Canadian non-profit foundation “Looking at the Stars” to bring live classical music to active inmates in prisons across Lithuania. In this coming season, Tony will be focused on engaging in community outreach programs in Kenya, as well as Southeast Asia.
Born in Chongqing and raised in Toronto, Tony is a recent graduate of Harvard University where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He was also the recipient of Harvard University’s Robert Levin Prize in Musical Performance during his graduating year.
Tony is currently an Artist-in-Residence at the Ingesund Piano Center in Sweden under the guidance of Prof. Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist, and in the past, was a fellow at the Oberlin-Lake Como International Piano Academy. His present and past musical advisors have included renowned musical figures such as Gabriela Montero, Eliso Virsaladze, Stephen Hough, Martha Argerich, Dang Thai Son, Mari Kodama, and James Anagnoson.