Kevin Lau
Extraordinarily accomplished, expressive, complex, and polished.
Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile
[Lau’s] music is a gift for all music lovers: to be listened to and savoured.
Viktor Lazarov, La Scena Musicale
[Lau’s] music is elevated beyond mere pastiche by his astonishing mastery of form and development.
Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile
A self-assured voice with something to say.
Leslie Barcza, Barczablog
A voice worth listening to.
Robert Harris, Globe and Mail
A composer with a masterful control of his idiom.
Jean-Yves Duperron, Classical Sentinel
Restless, impulsive, profound…musical comparisons are few.
Ian Ritchie, Opera Going Toronto
Extraordinarily accomplished, expressive, complex, and polished.
Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile
Lau [has a] gift for structure, subtle thematic development, and rich, atmospheric orchestration.
Natasha Gauthier, Artsfile
Lau is someone to follow.
John Terauds, Toronto Star
Lau’s command of colour is masterful.
Richard Todd, Wolfgang’s Tonic
Lau is a real crowd-pleaser, his music always listenable and often stunningly beautiful.
Leslie Barcza, Barczablog
Lau's gorgeous music brings contemporary daring to a distinctly classical palette.
Kelly Bedard, My Entertainment World

News

2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize

In 2025, Kevin was awarded the prestigious Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, one of the largest unrestricted prizes for all artists in Ontario, celebrating mid-career artists across multiple disciplines. He named composer Michelle Lorimer as the recipient of the Protege prize.

Kimiko's Pearl

The World Premiere of a new Canadian ballet, Kimiko's Pearl, will take place from June 22-23 at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in St. Catharines. Featuring music by Kevin Lau, the ballet dramatizes the Japanese-Canadian internment through the eyes of Kimiko, a modern-day teenager whose family experienced the tragedy of the internment first hand.

CD Release

Kevin Lau's debut album, Under a Veil of Stars, features the St. John-Mercer-Park Trio and is now available for purchase/streaming on multiple platforms. For more information, visit Leaf Music.

Book Release

The Nightingale is now a children's book! Featuring illustrations by Amy Scheidegger Ducos, music and text by Kevin Lau, and performances by Scott St. John, Nathan Williams, Kevin Lau, and narrator Miya Shay. Visit ROCO for more details.

Events

National Arts Centre Orchestra

Dark Angels Concert Suite. National Arts Centre Orchestra, National Arts Centre, Ottawa, ON.

One of Canada’s most versatile and sought-after composers, and recipient of the prestigious 2025 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, Kevin Lau has been commissioned by some of Canada’s most prominent artists and ensembles. His work has been performed internationally in countries such as the USA, Denmark, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, and South Korea. A prolific composer of orchestral, chamber, ballet, opera, and film music, he served as Affiliate Composer of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2012–2015; to date, he has produced eight works for the TSO. He has composed three original ballets for companies including the National Ballet of Canada (Le Petit Prince), National Arts Centre (Dark Angels), and Bravo Niagara! (Kimiko’s Pearl).

His music can be found on 13 commercial recordings, and his seven string quartets have been championed globally by internationally renowned ensembles such as the Viano, Poiesis, Tesla, Dior, and Afiara Quartets. In 2026, his ballet Kimiko’s Pearl received the JUNO award for Best Classical Album (Small Ensemble), and was a nominee for Best Classical Composition. The year before, Kevin’s debut album Under a Veil of Stars (performed by the St. John-Mercer-Park Trio) was also nominated for a JUNO award for Best Classical Album.

Kevin’s creative output, often inspired by the fantastical lens of childhood, is unified by a fascination with flow, and the search for deep connections amidst surface diversity — connections that serve as a metaphor for the reconciliation of seemingly fundamental differences.