Pianist Ning Yu’s work centers on new and experimental music. Through an exploratory and collaborative practice that integrates extended techniques, mechanical modification, technology, and interdisciplinary performance, she expands the expressive and performative boundaries of the piano.
Ning has been a featured artist at venues and festivals including Lincoln Center, the Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, National Sawdust, Time:Spans Festival, Frequency Festival, and Sounds of Music Festival. In 2026, she makes her German debut as a soloist with the NDR Radiophilharmonie at the KunstFestSpiele Festival in Hanover.
A dedicated advocate for music of our time, Ning has premiered over two hundred new works and collaborated closely with artists including Brigitta Muntendorf, Michael Beil, Terry Riley, Sufjan Stevens, Mark Reigelman II, David Bird, Wang Lu, Alec Hall, and Heather Stebbins. As a longtime member of the acclaimed piano-percussion quartet Yarn/Wire, she contributed to more than twenty recordings and numerous international premieres, working with composers such as George Lewis, Marina Rosenfeld, Annea Lockwood and Enno Poppe. Her decade-long collaboration with theater director Lee Breuer and performances with Mabou Mines’ Dollhouse took her on stages and festivals around the world.
Her recent discography includes Of Being, featuring commissioned works by Wang Lu and Emily Praetorius; Iron Orchid with David Bird; Brigitta Muntendorf’s Trilogy for Two Pianos; and Spirals - a collaboration with Heather Stebbins.
Ning is the recipient of the Yvar Mikhashoff Award in 2024 for her performance and advocacy of music by living composers. She is Associate Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at George Washington University.
