Julian Yu, who was born in Beijing in 1957, surprised his non-musical family by writing his first composition - a one-act Peking opera - at the age of twelve. He went on to study composition at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, and later joined the teaching staff there. From 1980 to 1982 he studied at the Tokyo College of Music under Joji Yuasa and Schin-ichiro Ikebe. He migrated to Australia in 1985. In 1988 he was selected for a Composition Fellowship at Tanglewood, where he studied under Hans Werner Henze and Oliver Knussen, and was awarded the Koussevitzky Tanglewood Composition Prize for that year.

He has written many works for orchestra, instrumental and choral groups, theatre and opera, commissioned by organisations such as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), IRCAM, the City of Munich, Australia Ensemble, Melbourne International Festival, Synergy Percussion and Chamber Made Opera. His most recent commission is from the BBC for the Promenade Concerts in 2000.

Julian Yu's music has won over 20 awards in the USA, Japan, Italy, France, P.R. China, and his adopted Australia. In 1991 and 1994, an international jury unanimously selected his work for the Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize. Established in 1991 and awarded every three years, this is the highest award available to an Australian composer.

His music has been performed by many orchestras and ensembles worldwide such as Ensemble InterContemporain, Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of the Tanglewood Music Centre, and the Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. It has also featured at international contemporary music festivals such as the Munich Biennale, ISCM World Music Days, the Asian Composer's League (ACL) Festivals, and the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.