Byron Au Yong

Byron Au Yong is a composer and associate professor in performing arts and social justice at the University of San Francisco. His songs of dislocation challenge conventional narratives and work to end violence. Examples include Activist Songbook, a collection to counteract hate and energize movements (Asian Arts Initiative, International Festival of Arts & Ideas), The Ones, a.k.a. (Be)longing, a.k.a. Trigger, an oratorio about coming of age in an age of guns (MDC Live Arts, Virginia Tech Center for the Arts), and Stuck Elevator, a music theater/opera hybrid about a Chinese food delivery man trapped in a Bronx elevator for 81 hours (American Conservatory Theater, Nashville Opera). Au Yong served as a Pew Fellowships panelist in 2022.