Vala-Yang Duo is Icelandic pianist, Erna Vala, and American pianist, Andrew J. Yang. Their inaugural performance took place in May 2018 at Finlandia House (Helsinki, Finland), presented by the Icelandic Embassy - in which both the President of Iceland, Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, and the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, were present. They were both awarded the White Rose Medal of Honor from the President Niinistö.  Recently, Vala-Yang Duo was also awarded an 2018 Icelandic-Finnish Cultural Grant. In addition to performing together, Vala and Yang recently founded the Icelandic Schumann Society. More information can be found here: http://schumann.is

 

Reykjavík born pianist Erna Vala performs regularly across Europe. She has won all the major music competitions in Iceland and performed as a soloist with orchestras, including the Iceland Symphony Orchestra at Harpa. She is currently based in Reykjavik after spending the last year in doctoral studies at USC Thornton School of Music on a Fulbright Scholarship. Previously, she received her Master’s degree at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki as a student of Hamsa Juris. For more information, please visit her website: https://ernavala.com/