Hamilton Lau, Piano

Named by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as one of "30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30", Hamilton Lau is establishing himself as a promising, energetic, and dedicated musician. Born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, he began his piano studies at the age of four, and he currently studies with Corey Hamm at the University of British Columbia.

He has achieved awards from numerous competitions at the international, national, provincial, and local level. He won the UBC Concerto Competition in 2022, the Canadian Music Competition in 2021 and 2019, and the Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival in 2022 and 2018. Additionally, he received Second Prize and the Paul J. Bourret Memorial Award for Best Performance of the Test Piece at the 2022 Shean Piano Competition. He also achieved first place at the Kay Meek Competition, the Phyllis Salter Piano Competition, and at the Bjorn and Lori Hareid Senior Secondary Competition, earned Bronze Prize and the prize for the Best Performance of a Canadian Composition (18-35 years old) at the Vancouver International Music Competition, was selected as a semi-finalist at the 2022 OSM Competition, and received trophies and scholarships from many local music festivals and competitions, such as the Architecture of Music Competition, VWMS Bursary Competition, and the Vancouver Kiwanis Music Festival.

Besides competing, Hamilton has a wide range of experience in performing, both as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist. He played Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor at the Orpheum Theatre with the VAM Symphony Orchestra (VAMSO) in 2018 and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor at the Chan Center with the UBC Symphony Orchestra in 2022. His chamber music experiences comprise of performing at the Ent Center for the Arts, the Roy Barnett Recital Hall, and the Windermere Care Centre. As an ardent learner, Hamilton has participated in masterclasses with Ilana Vered, Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Lydia Artymiw. He received the British Columbia Registered Music Teacher’s Association Excellence Award in 2015, and in 2016, he obtained the Associate Diploma of the Royal Conservatory of Music (ARCT), Piano Performance.