Sonny Chua
Sonny Chua’s music assimilates seemingly incongruous ideas across a broad palette, drawing on classical, pop, jazz, rock, folk and techno influences with playful invention.
Chua was born on 2 November 1967 in Penang, Malaysia. The eldest of four children, he also lived in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Malacca before the family immigrated to Melbourne, Australia. He began piano lessons in Malacca at eight and continued in Melbourne with Julie Zelman, who encouraged him toward modern styles and set his creative path in motion.
He attended the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, studying piano with Stephen McIntyre, and completed a Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium in 1990, specialising in piano performance with Ronald Farren-Price AO, Alexander Semetsky and Max Cooke, and studying composition with Peter Tahourdin, Barry Conyngham and Brenton Broadstock.
Composing independently, he explored many directions: classical solo and accompaniment work, repetiteur for cabaret, musical theatre and opera, folk festivals with a Celtic band, and musical direction for the Walt Disney Company. His piano writing became a staple of examinations, competitions and festivals, mixing craft with wit across classical, jazz, pop and folk idioms.
Sonny Chua died on 9 September 2020 following a stroke. He left a wife and two young children.
Sonny Chua is featured on the following titles
Theme & Deviations
Sonny Chua performs a thrilling selection of his popular piano works, including the Sonatina, the subversively charming Assorted Fairies, and Theme and 12 Deviations – a wickedly hilarious, dazzling set of variations-to-end-all-variations on Chopsticks.
Composer
Performing as Team of Pianists
The Melbourne-based Team of Pianists is acclaimed for high standards of artistry and professionalism, and has captivated audiences in Australia and overseas for nearly twenty years through solo, chamber and concerto performance.
Hamilton
The Team of Pianists present a programme of excellent piano works for solo, duo and two pianos, spanning popular classics and Australian repertoire.
Composer
Sonny Chua has been a member of
Team of Pianists
The Melbourne-based Team of Pianists is acclaimed for high standards of artistry and professionalism, and has captivated audiences in Australia and overseas for nearly twenty years through solo, chamber and concerto performance.