Berklee Student Yukai Yang Named 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artist

Yukai Yang(Opens in a new window), a student at Berklee College of Music, has been selected as one of the 11 winners of the prestigious 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artists(Opens in a new window) (YYPA) competition for his dynamic percussion performance and musicianship.

The YYPA competition is designed to acknowledge and reward exceptional young musicians studying in the United States who excel in classical, jazz, and contemporary music genres.

Yang came from Jincheng, Shanxi, China, to study at the college as a drum principal. He was encouraged by brass professor and alumnus Tiger Okoshi, a Yamaha artist himself, to participate in this year's YYPA. As a result, Yang competed and won the Jazz/Contemporary Drum Set category.

“Yukai Yang has a unique and strong ‘born-to-be-a-drummer’ attitude,” said Okoshi. “He understands what cymbals can do to the musical paintings we create. Cymbals make the music more dimensional, and Yukai understands why I told him to sing the melody while playing the set of drums so that he creates better orchestration on the drum set.”

The winners of the 2025 YYPA competition receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the YYPA Celebration Weekend, June 21-24, 2025, in Muncie, Indiana, during the Bands of America Summer Camp. The three-day event was created to help launch the winners into their careers with the opportunity to perform in front of a unique audience, participate in industry workshops, and receive national media coverage. 

John Wittmann, associate vice president for the Yamaha Artist Relations Group, said, “Each of the 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition Winners is extraordinarily unique and gifted. The real magic happens when they come together and perform their chosen works, including some original pieces for the exuberant audience at the Bands of America Summer Camp in June. The YYPA winners have earned this recognition and will never forget this once-in-a-lifetime musical experience. Yamaha remains committed to music education and we will continue to help guide young music-makers toward rewarding careers.”

The winners will also benefit from services and support offered by Yamaha Artist Relations, including professional audio and video recordings, as well as photography of their live performances.